INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Asian Tsunami

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with countries affected by the Asian tsunami regarding the sexual exploitation of children left (a) orphaned and (b) otherwise vulnerable, by the disaster; and what assistance the Government have given to help combat sexual exploitation of vulnerable children.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has talked at length with affected governments and humanitarian agencies operating on the ground to ensure that the needs of all vulnerable groups are adequately met. In particular, DFID is supporting programmes through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). This includes £2,250,000 to UNICEF's Child Protection programmes in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. This programme includes assessments of the needs of children, the monitoring of vulnerable groups and advocacy on behalf of children with the relevant government bodies. DFID has also provided £400,000 to the Save the Children Fund's programme in Sri Lanka that includes child protection activities.
	DFID continues to monitor the situation, and its country offices are retaining strong links to non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies as we move into the recovery phase.

Malawi

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received from the Malawi Government on the time scale for commencement of funds for the six-year health programme.

Hilary Benn: DFID has been clear that UK aid under the new six-year programme will be available from the beginning of the UK 2005–06 financial year. No representations have been received about the time scale for the commencement of payments. DFID spending on health in Malawi in financial year 2004–05 on existing commitments to Government and NGO programmes will be £11 million and is expected to increase by 50 per cent. with the new programme in 2005–06 and subsequent years.
	DFID signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health and other collaborating partners, Norway/SIDA and the World Bank on 29 October 2004, and an exchange of letters on DFID's health sector support on 9 December 2005. An initial disbursement of funds into the Donor Pool to support the Sector Wide Approach was made in December by Norway/SIDA. DFID is due to add its disbursement into this pool on 1 April 2005, once agreement is reached on a plan of action to reform Central Medical Stores.

TRANSPORT

Metrolink (Manchester)

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will determine the bid for the upgrading of phases 1 and 2 of Manchester's Metrolink.

Tony McNulty: We are discussing the bid in detail with the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and will make a decision as soon as we are able to.

Transport Projects

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what major transport projects have been approved in the last year, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Alistair Darling: The major local authority schemes (outside London) listed in Table 1 were approved fully during the course of 2004:
	
		Table 1: Full approval
		
			 Scheme Constituency 
		
		
			 Rugeley Eastern Bypass Cannock Chase 
			   
			 A167 Chilton Bypass Sedgefield 
			   
			 A158 Partney Bypass Louth and Horncastle 
			   
			 Cradley Heath Town Centre Strategy Halesowen and Rowley Regis 
			   
			 Sunderland Southern Radial Route Sunderland S 
			   
			 Barnstaple Western Bypass North Devon 
			   
			 South Lowestoft Relief Road Waveney 
			   
			 A429 Barford Bypass Warwick and Leamington 
			   
			 Stoke Hammond and Linslade Bypass, Bucks Buckingham 
			  South West Bedfordshire 
			   
			 Northfield Regeneration Route, Birmingham Birmingham Northfield 
			 West Midlands Red Route Wolverhampton North East 
			  Wolverhampton South West 
			  Wolverhampton South East 
			  Walshall North 
			  Aldridge-Brownhills 
			  Walshall South 
			  Dudley North 
			  West Bromwich West/ East 
			  Birmingham Perry Barr 
			  Birmingham Erdington 
			  Sutton Coldfield 
			  Dudley South 
			  Stourbridge 
			  Halesowen and Rowley Regis 
			  Warley 
			  Birmingham Edgbaston 
			  Birmingham Ladywood 
			  Birmingham Hodge Hill 
			  Birmingham Yardley 
			  Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath 
			  Birmingham Northfield 
			  Birmingham Selly Oak 
			  Birmingham Hall Green 
			  Solihull 
			  Meriden 
			   
			 North West Taunton Taunton 
			   
			 Primelines (Coventry quality bus network) Coventry North West 
			  Coventry South 
			  Coventry North East 
			   
			 Wolverhampton Centre access Interchange Wolverhampton North East 
			  Wolverhampton South West 
			  Wolverhampton South East 
			   
			 Derby Inner Ring Road Maintenance Derby North 
			  Derby South 
			   
			 Plymouth A386 Northern Corridor Improvements, Park and Ride Plymouth Sutton 
			  Plymouth Devonport 
			   
			 Salisbury Integrated Transport Package Salisbury 
		
	
	The major local authority schemes (outside London) listed in Table 2 were provisionally approved during the course of 2004. These schemes are approved with conditions, the main ones being that costs do not increase, statutory and consultative procedures are completed satisfactorily and their designs and appraisal do not change significantly.
	
		Table 2: Provisional Approval
		
			  
		
		
			 Edge Lane West, Liverpool Liverpool Wavertree 
			  Liverpool West Derby 
			   
			 Bexhill To Hastings Link Road Hastings and Rye 
			  Bexhill and Battle 
			   
			 Sittingbourne Northern Developer Route Sittingbourne and Sheppey 
			   
			 Watford Junction Watford 
			   
			 Castle ford Interchange Pontefract and Castleford 
			   
			 Copnor Bridge, Portsmouth Portsmouth South 
		
	
	The schemes listed in Table 3 were added to the Highway Agency's targeted programme of improvements during 2004.
	
		Table 3
		
			  
		
		
			 A27 Southerham to Beddingham Eastbourne 
			 Improvement Lewes 
			   
			 M1 J21–30 Loughborough 
			  Blaby 
			  North West Leicestershire 
			  Bosworth 
			  Bolsover 
			  Broxtowe 
			  Ashfield 
			  Nottingham North 
			  North East Derbyshire 
			  Erewash 
			  Sherwood 
			  Leicester West 
			  Chesterfield 
			  Charnwood 
			   
			 M25 J1b-3 Widening Dartford 
			  Orpington 
			  Bexleyheath and Crayford 
			   
			 M25 J5–7 Widening Sevenoaks 
			  East Surrey 
			 M25 J16–23 Widening Hertsmere 
			  St. Albans 
			  Uxbridge 
			  South West Hertfordshire 
			  Ruislip 
			  Northwood 
			   
			 M25 J23–27 Widening Enfield North 
			  Epping Forest 
			  Broxbourne 
			  Welwyn Hatfield 
			  Hemel Hemstead 
			   
			 M25 J27–30 Widening Thurrock 
			  Romford 
			  Hornchurch 
			  Chipping Barnet 
			  Chingford and Woodford Green 
			   
			 A21 Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst Bexhill and Battle 
			 Bypass Hastings and Rye 
			  Tunbridge Wells 
			   
			 A23 Handcross to Warninglid Crawley 
			 Widening Horsham 
			  Mid Sussex 
			   
			 A453 Widening (M1 J24 to A52 North West Leicestershire 
			 Nottingham) Rushcliffe 
			  Nottingham South 
		
	
	Decisions on road projects in London have been devolved to the London Mayor.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (a) how many and (b) what types of unmanned aerial vehicles have been licensed to operate over land in civilian airspace by the Civil Aviation Authority in each of the last five years.

Charlotte Atkins: To date, the Civil Aviation Authority has not issued any Certificates of Airworthiness to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business Regulatory Costs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to review the cost of regulation to businesses.

Nigel Griffiths: Previous budgets have taken measures to reduce the costs of regulation to business. For instance our flat rate VAT scheme has helped cut payments for up to 700,000 businesses.
	Our raising the mandatory audit threshold has helped up to 219,000 businesses save up to £270 million per annum. Our abolition of automatic fines for VAT have helped too—in 1996–97 this cost business £99 million.
	Future budgets can be expected to provide further help.

Russian Economic Forum

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether (a) she and (b) a representative from her Department will be meeting the Russian Federation's Minister of Energy and Industry during his visit to London to address the Russian Economic Forum in London on 10 to 12 April.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, met Viktor Khristenko, the Russian Federation's Minister of Energy and Industry, in June during a visit to Moscow. Also, the Director-General Energy met Mr. Khristenko in Moscow in November. The Department is hoping that a further meeting can be arranged with the Secretary of State the next time Mr. Khristenko visits London. This could be during the Russian Economic Forum in London on 10 to 12 April but there could be an earlier meeting. The general position is that DTI Ministers are happy to meet Ministers from the Russian Federation on matters of mutual interest whenever opportunities arise and diaries permit.

UK Economy

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in which industries the UK enjoys a significant comparative advantage relative to (a) the US, (b) China, (c) India and (d) EU accession countries.

Douglas Alexander: I am not aware of any analysis that would show in which industries all these countries enjoy a significant comparative advantage relative to each other. However estimates of revealed comparative advantage suggest that the following countries especially specialise in the following sectors:
	UK: Financial and insurance, creative and media, aerospace and pharmaceuticals
	USA: Aerospace
	China: Clothing, textiles, household goods especially brown and white electronic goods, accessories such as suitcases, watches, jewellery, tableware.
	I am not aware of an analysis for India and the EU accession countries.

PRIME MINISTER

Annual Report

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to publish the Government's Annual Report.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 12 July 2001, Official Report, column 638W.

Intercept Evidence

Peter Lilley: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 23 February, Official Report, column 302, on intercept evidence, when he saw the advice received by the Leader of the Opposition when he was Home Secretary.

Tony Blair: It is a matter of public record that there have been a number of reviews of intercept as evidence, including under the previous administration. None of these recommended a change in the law.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister whether minutes were made of each meeting his special advisers held with the Attorney-General in March 2003 on the preparation of legal advice on the legality of engaging in military action against Iraq.

Tony Blair: The meeting which the Attorney-General held with Lord Falconer and Baroness Morgan on 13 March 2003 did not discuss the preparation of legal advice on the legality of engaging in military action against Iraq. I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by my noble Friend the Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith) to Baroness Hanham on 28 February 2005, Official Report, column WA1 and the answer given by my noble Friend the Leader of the House of Lords (Baroness Amos) to Earl Attlee on 7 September 2004, Official Report, columns WA96–97.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister which members of the Cabinet were shown the full text of the Attorney-General's legal advice on the legality of the war of 7 March 2003.

Simon Thomas: To ask the Prime Minister what criteria he used in making his decision on whether to show the full advice from the Attorney-General on military action in Iraq to every member of his Cabinet.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 28 February 2005, Official Report, column 923W.

Legal Advice

Simon Thomas: To ask the Prime Minister whether he is required under the Ministerial Code of Conduct to show full legal advice received from the Attorney-General relating to matters before the Cabinet to each member of the Cabinet.

Tony Blair: Section 1 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance to Ministers on the conduct of Cabinet Business, and advice received from the Law Officers.

September 11

Michael Meacher: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what representations he has received from the families of British victims of September 11 2001 concerning the investigation of (a) the events that took place in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania on that day and (b) the circumstances leading to those events; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations he has made to President Bush concerning the investigation of the events of September 11 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I received over 7,000 letters following the September 11 terrorist attacks, including some from the families of British victims. A number of these raised the US Government investigation into those attacks and the circumstances leading to them. The Government have had extensive discussions with the US Government, at many levels, about circumstances surrounding the events of 11 September 2001.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biodiversity

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact termination of the EU Life Nature Fund would have on her Department's ability to meet its public service agreement target of achieving favourable conditions for 95 per cent. of sites of special interest in England by 2010.

Ben Bradshaw: It has not yet been possible to make an assessment of the impact because the European Commission has yet to provide member states with answers to detailed questions about their proposals, including the scope of the proposed LIFE+ Regulation to replace the LIFE Nature Regulation.
	Moreover, applications for funding under Life Nature are made by a variety of organisations. I am unable to say which among those with responsibility for aspects of SSSI condition have been expecting to rely on a Life Nature contribution in taking this forward.

Countryside Access

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the transitional arrangements which will be put in place when section 53 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is implemented will require surveying authorities to process to a conclusion all applications for definitive map modification orders on their registers at the cut-off date.

Alun Michael: There is provision for regulations in section 56(2) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow the making of transitional provisions and savings in respect of applications outstanding at the time of the cut-off date.
	It is our intention that the regulations under section 56 will provide that all applications entered on the register at the cut-off date will be processed to their conclusion by the surveying authority.

Global Warming

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of possible benefits arising from global warming in respect of (a) lower energy costs and (b) higher crop yield.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 2 March 2005
	The information is as follows:
	(a) The UK's energy projections take account of the effect of increasing temperatures on energy demand, although we have not identified the impact separately. We are not aware of any detailed studies of the potential for higher temperatures to reduce energy usage globally, although space heating and cooling are both key users of energy, so rising temperatures, whilst reducing winter heating requirements, will lead to increased use of air conditioning, which will counteract and possibly outweigh any gains.
	(b) A study entitled Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture was carried out for Defra in 2004 by the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER). Among its findings, the study demonstrated that warmer temperatures resulting from climate change will increase the potential growing season of arable and other crops, earlier sowings will be possible, and crops will grow and ripen faster. In particular, maize will have a higher yield potential in an extended growing season.

GM Crops

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the final results of the winter oilseed rape field scale evaluations will be published; in what form they will be published; and whether her Department will consult stakeholders before responding to the results.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The results from the farm-scale evaluations of winter oilseed rape are expected to be published in the journal The Proceedings of the Royal Society" on 21 March 2005. On that day the Scientific Steering Committee, which oversaw the evaluations, and members of the research consortium, who undertook the research, will present the results at an open meeting at the Royal Institution in London. Details of the event are available through the Defra website. The committee is also arranging for a non-technical summary to be published on the same day; this will be available both as a free publication and to download from Defra's website.
	The Government intend to refer the results to the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment for advice on their implications. ACRE is proposing to hold an open meeting on 25 May 2005 at which it will take evidence to assist it with formulating the advice required for our response to the results. Details of this event will be finalised shortly and placed on Defra's website. There will also be provision on the web for stakeholders to submit evidence for ACRE's consideration.

Green Taxes

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the effects of EFTA Surveillance Authority Decision No. 148/04/COL of 30 June 2004, 2004/C 319/08, OJ C319 of 23 December 2004, on the ability of EU states to adjust green taxes under single market competition provisions.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government support effective control of distortive state aids within the Single Market. The Government have been active in using environmental taxes, along with other approaches, to achieve environmental outcomes and do not believe that the EFTA Surveillance Authority decision alters the ability of the UK and other EU member states to make changes to their environmental taxes within the scope of the EU state aid rules.

Planning Inspectorate

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the consistency guidelines produced by the Planning Inspectorate that relate to rights of way and definition map orders; how they may be amended; and who monitors their accuracy.

Alun Michael: The Planning Inspectorate has produced a document entitled Definitive Map Orders: Consistency Guidelines". These guidelines were developed in consultation with rights of way inspectors and Defra's rights of way policy division. The Rights of Way Review Committee and, more recently, various rights of way user groups have been consulted over the content of the guidelines. The Inspectorate, in conjunction with Defra, continues to monitor and update the guidelines as changes in legislation and case law make this necessary. Any individual or group that considers that a change to the guidelines is necessary can alert the Planning Inspectorate or Defra's rights of way policy division to this need.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to protect society from the impact of animal diseases;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the health and welfare of kept animals;
	(3)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the spread of bovine TB to new parishes to below the incremental trend of 17.5 confirmed new instances per annum by the end of 2008 will be met;
	(4)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to eradicate BSE by 2010 will be met;
	(5)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the prevalence of scrapie infection by 40 per cent. from 0.33 per cent. to 0.20 per cent. by 2010 will be met;
	(6)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to eliminate fuel poverty in vulnerable households in England by 2010 will be met;
	(7)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to care for the natural heritage;
	(8)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target of moving towards a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels by 2010;
	(9)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010 will be met;
	(10)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase the use of energy saving technologies;
	(11)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to lead the integration of environment policies across Government and internationally;
	(12)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement targets to protect and improve the (a) rural, (b) urban, (c) marine and (d) global environment;
	(13)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement targets to deliver more customer-focused farming;
	(14)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote sustainable, diverse, modern and adaptable farming through domestic and international action;
	(15)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote a sustainable, competitive and safe food supply chain;
	(16)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the accessibility of services for rural people;
	(17)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to deliver the UK's World Summit on Sustainable Development commitments in the areas of (a) sustainable consumption, (b) sustainable production, (c) biodiversity, (d) oceans, (e) fisheries and (f) agriculture;
	(18)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to increase the electronic service delivery capability to Common Agricultural Policy payments to 95 per cent. by 31 March will be met;
	(19)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the unit cost of administering Common Agricultural Policy payments by 10 per cent. by 2004–05 will be met;
	(20)  whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the time taken to clear up cases of poor welfare infarmed animals by 5 per cent. by March 2004 was met;
	(21)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the annual incidence of BSE to less than 30 cases by 2006 will be met;
	(22)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to improve air quality by meeting the National Air Quality strategy objectives for carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particles, sulphur dioxide, benzene and 1–3 butadiene;
	(23)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to protect the public's interest in relation to environmental impacts and health;
	(24)  whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce fuel poverty among vulnerable households by improving the energy efficiency of 600,000 homes between 2001 and 2004 was met;
	(25)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to enable 25 per cent. of household waste to be recycled or composted by 2005–06 will be met;
	(26)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement targets to promote (a) sustainable management and (b) the prudent use of natural resources domestically and internationally.
	(27)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to enable enhanced EU funding for rural development;
	(28)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to enable enhanced EU funding for environmental conservation;
	(29)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to secure Common Agricultural Policy reforms;
	(30)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase agriculture's gross value added per person;
	(31)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to deliver more competitive and sustainable farming;
	(32)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the gap in productivity between the least well performing quartile of rural areas and the English median by 2006 will be met;
	(33)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to enhance opportunity in rural areas;
	(34)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to tackle social exclusion in rural areas;
	(35)  what recent assessment she has made towards the Public Service Agreement target to open up public access to mountain, moor, heath and down by the end of 2005 will be met;
	(36)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to bring 95 per cent. of all nationally important wildlife sites into favourable condition by 2010 will be met;
	(37)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to reverse the long-term decline in the number of farmland birds by 2020;
	(38)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to preserve biological diversity;
	(39)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote sustainable development across Government and the country;
	(40)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to make the countryside attractive and enjoyable for all;
	(41)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to deliver thriving economies and communities in rural areas;
	(42)  what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote economic prosperity through sustainable farming, fishing, food, water and other industries that meet consumers' requirements.

Alun Michael: The Department provides regular performance updates against its outstanding Public Service Agreement targets through its annual Departmental Report and its Autumn Performance Report published in spring and autumn respectively. The 2004 versions, which are the most recently published, are available in the House Libraries and online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm
	A short summary of progress against our 2002 Spending Review targets can be found in Appendix 4 of the reports, with more detailed information available in Chapter 2.
	The Department also gives regular updates on its performance via HM Treasury's website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/performance/DEFRA.cfm
	Defra's 2005 Departmental Report is due for publication late spring/early summer 2005.

Village Halls

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding streams are available for village hall facility improvements; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Funding for village halls has traditionally come from local and charitable sources, with only a relatively small amount of support from central Government. Indeed, the amount of central funding assisting village halls now is very much higher than it was in the seventies, eighties and nineties. Since its inception in 1995, the Community Fund of the National Lottery has provided grants to the value of more than £138 million to around 4,500 village hall projects and the Millennium Fund supported over 500 village halls and urban community centres to the value of nearly £100 million. National funding sources including the Big Lottery Fund will continue to make an important contribution; but this must supplement and not be seen as a substitute for local leadership and fund-raising.
	The variety of public funding includes the following:
	Defra: Rural Enterprise Scheme; Village Halls Loan Fund; Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund; Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.
	National Lottery Funds: Big Lottery Fund; Awards for All.
	Local authorities provide grants in addition to the Parish Council precept and the access available from Parish Council to the Public Works Loan Board.
	The above information refers only to the public funding which is available to supplement local fund-raising and donations which have always been the main source of finance for village halls.
	Indirect sources of public funds to supplement private donations include Gift Aid, and some limited VAT reduction.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Betting Terminals

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what legal advice the Government have received on the legality of fixed odds betting terminals in high street locations;
	(2)  what legal advice the Gaming Board has received on the legality of fixed odds betting terminals in high street locations.

Richard Caborn: Legal advice given to the Department on this matter will be subject to legal professional privilege, and confidential as a result. I believe the same would be true for any advice received by the Gaming Board.
	I would, however, refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 1.24–1.25 of the Board's Report for 2003–04, which noted the uncertainty about the legal status of fixed odds betting terminals, as a matter of public record. The Report was laid in the House on 14 July 2004 and copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

Betting Terminals

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate (a) the number of fixed odds betting terminals in operation and (b) the number of locations in town centres where fixed odds betting terminals are operating.

Richard Caborn: We estimate that there are currently about 24,000 fixed odds betting terminals in operation, but are not in a position to estimate the number of betting shops located in town centres rather than elsewhere.

Betting Terminals

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the average amount of money lost per head on fixed odds betting terminals each week.

Richard Caborn: We have made no such estimate. The only information available is included in the draft report prepared for the Association of British Bookmakers by Europe Economics, which indicates, on the basis of interviews with a sample of betting shop customers, that their average weekly spend on all forms of gambling (including using fixed odds betting terminals) is between £50 and £60.

Betting Terminals

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the total amount spent in the last week for which figures are available on (a) fixed odds betting terminals and (b) the national lottery.

Richard Caborn: Information about total weekly spend on fixed odds betting terminals is not available. National lottery sales for the week 20–26 February were £93,135,739.

Betting Terminals

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of problem gamblers who attribute their problems mainly to fixed odds betting terminals.

Richard Caborn: The information so far available on the relationship between problem gambling and use of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) is contained in the draft of an independent report undertaken for the Association of British Bookmakers by Europe Economics, who are currently considering comments on it by two independent experts who reviewed it at the Department's request. The report does not provide a firm basis for estimating the percentage sought, but it indicates that, on the basis of a sample of 7,845 people who bet or gamed (excluding bingo) at least once a month, 48 used FOBTs at least once a month. It also notes that 29 people (0.4 per cent. of the total sample) could be classified as problem gamblers, but concludes that while nearly all participated in more than one form of gambling the numbers involved were too small to permit meaningful further analysis.

Departmental Policies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Coventry, South constituency, the effects in the constituency of changes to her Department's policies since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The Department's aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on Coventry, South since 2 May 1997.
	In 2002 we launched the first ever comprehensive national physical education, school sport and club links strategy with an investment of £459 million. One school sport partnership involving three School Sport Co-ordinators and 15 Primary Link teachers is based in Coventry, South. It has received a Sport England grant of £327,310. To achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities. Sports facilities in Coventry, South have benefited from two Sport England Community Capital Lottery grants totalling £562,787, two Sport England Active Sports Lottery grants totalling £1,665,612 and a further two awards worth £905,655 in total from the £108 million investment in innovative sports facilities through the Active England programme.
	We have increased our national funding to the arts in real terms by 60 per cent. from £199 million in 1998–99 to £367 million in 2004–05. Between 1998–99 and 2003–04 funding to Arts Council England, West Midlands increased from £5.6 million to £32.5 million, including from 1 April 2003, funding to major national arts organisations in the West Midlands.
	In 2005–06 the total Arts Council England, West Midlands investment in regularly funded organisations will be £35.4 million. Coventry, South has benefited from grants to arts organisations and individuals, including the Belgrade Theatre and Arts and Media Training which is based in Coventry.
	Since September 2004, schools in Coventry, South have been included in the second phase of the Creative Partnerships programme which began in 2002. Creative Partnerships aims to give school children and their teachers the opportunity to explore their creativity by working on sustained projects with creative organisations and individuals, including artists, theatre companies, dance studios, museums, orchestras, film-makers and historic buildings. Funding of £65 million was allocated for the period 2002–05 to develop Creative Partnerships, and the programme will receive at least a further £86 million in 2005–08.
	Culture Online was launched in 2002 to increase access to, and participation in, arts and culture. Many of its projects are aimed at children of school age and at audiences that might not otherwise participate in arts and culture, including those who do not easily have access to arts and culture, people from deprived communities and people with particular educational or physical needs. People in Coventry, South will be among those who benefit from Culture Online. Between 2002 and 2004, £13 million was allocated to fund 20 Culture Online projects.
	Coventry, South also benefits in the museum sector from Renaissance in the Regions.
	Coventry Arts and Heritage is a partner in the West Midlands regional hub, which, as a Phase 1 hub, received priority funding; it received £0.8 million in the 2003–04 financial year for Renaissance, with a further £0.62 million from the Education Strategy Fund. The total grant for the period 2003–06 will be £7.11 million from Renaissance and £3.14 million from the Education Strategy Fund, totalling £10.25 million. Of this money, Coventry Arts and Heritage has been allocated £1,068,075 to deliver Coventry's contribution to the West Midlands Hub's two-year plan.
	In addition, the collections of the Coventry Transport Museum have been designated by Museums, Libraries and Archives Council as being a pre-eminent collection of national or international importance. The museum has received £445,000 through the Designated Challenge Fund, which is financed by DCMS, to improve interpretation and displays levering a substantial amount of investment from European funds and a huge commitment from the council to support the museum's work.
	Through our commitment to public service broadcasting we have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and Channel 4, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. The Communications Act 2003 includes provisions to ensure that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future.
	Our support for, and promotion of, the film and broadcasting industries have contributed to the general success of film-making and television activity in the Coventry, South area. Screen West Midlands has provided lottery funding to a number of film-related activities in the constituency including the Warwick Arts Centre and the Blink Film Festival Coventry.
	In November 2000 we introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over. Information on the number of beneficiaries by constituency is not available. However, according to Department for Work and Pensions records, the number of households in the Coventry, South constituency with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 5,715.
	We have changed the licensing laws to allow people to hold and attend commercial dances on Sunday, to make it easier for restaurants to open an hour later, and to relax the alcohol licensing hours from 11 pm on new year's eve to 11 am on new year's day in all future years; and we have given the police greater powers to take action against under-age drinking and disorderly and noisy licensed premises. The Licensing Act 2003, when fully implemented, will introduce a streamlined, consistent and fair licensing regime for the provision of alcohol, public entertainment and late night refreshment. It will provide greater choice for consumers, bring regeneration and increased employment opportunities and protect local residents whose lives have been blighted by disturbance and antisocial behaviour.
	The Gambling Bill will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licenses and local authorities will be able to decide not to issue licenses for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in Coventry, South, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.
	Tourism in Coventry, South has benefited from Government-funded marketing activity. In April 2003 we established VisitBritain with a new domestic marketing remit for England, and we gave strategic responsibility for tourism development to the Regional Development Agencies, including Advantage West Midlands. These changes, together with VisitBritain's successful marketing activities in promoting Britain abroad as an attractive tourist destination, benefit all parts of the country, including Coventry, South.
	English Heritage has awarded grants worth £265,168 to Coventry, South since May 1997, including £100,000 to 119–123 Spon Street and £97,414 to 123a/123b Upper Spon Street in 2001.
	In common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in Coventry, South are connected to the internet through the People's Network which was funded through a £120 million lottery grant and which has put all the United Kingdom's public libraries on-line. In addition, the Department is funding the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council with £5 million over three years to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme, which is designed to encourage improvement across the public libraries sector in England.
	The Department has been an energetic advocate of the community and informal learning value of public libraries. Councils within the West Midlands area including Coventry city council have recognised this value and as part of a consortium took part in an initiative called Multinet, the result of which was to enable the participating public library authorities to enjoy the benefits of high bandwidth networking technology. Coventry's central library, which resides in the Coventry, South constituency, was one of the beneficiaries of the project's overall award of £324,439 from the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund in 1999–2000.
	The DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund has also supplied an award of £124,761 in 2001–02 towards the Caring with Books initiative in the West Midlands. This entailed building relationships with books and reading between foster families, public care institutes and many of the 7,000 children currently in public care across the West Midlands, including the Coventry area.
	Information from the national lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Coventry, South has benefited from over 347 awards totalling over £55 million. Of these, 43 awards worth just under £5 million were made by the New Opportunities Fund which was established by the Government in 1999. The New Opportunities Fund merged with the Community Fund in June 2004 to form the Big Lottery Fund.

Departmental Policies

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency, the effect of her Department's policies and actions on the constituency since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Richard Caborn: The Department's aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on Blackpool, North and Fleetwood since 2 May 1997.
	In 2002 we launched the first ever comprehensive national physical education, school sport and club links strategy with an investment of £459 million. One school sport partnership involving eight School Sport Co-ordinators and 35 Primary Link teachers is based in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood. It has received a Sport England grant of £327,570. To achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities since 1997. Sports facilities in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood have benefited from two Sport England Community Capital Lottery grants totalling £514,330.
	We have increased our national funding to the arts in real terms by 60 per cent. from £199 million in 1998–99 to £67 million in 2004–50. Between 1998–99 and 2003–04 funding to Arts Council England, North West increased from £7.6 million to £19.6 million including from 1 April 2003, funding to major national arts organisations in the North West. In 2005–06, the total Arts Council England North West investment in the region will be £28.4 million. Blackpool, North and Fleetwood has benefited from grants to arts organisations and individuals in the North West, including the Blackpool Grand and the North West Disability Arts Forum.
	Culture Online was launched in 2002 to increase access to, and participation in, arts and culture. Many of its projects are aimed at children of school age and at audiences that might not otherwise participate in arts and culture, including those who do not easily have access to arts and culture, people from deprived communities and people with particular educational or physical needs. People in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood will be among those who benefit from Culture Online. Between 2002 and 2004, £13 million was allocated to fund 20 Culture Online projects.
	Through our commitment to public service broadcasting we have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and Channel 4, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. The Communications Act 2003 includes provisions to ensure that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future.
	Our support for, and promotion of, the film and broadcasting industries have contributed to the general success of film-making and television activity in the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood area. A considerable amount of television has been filmed in and around Blackpool since 1997, including the forthcoming television drama Blackpool" and the comedy series Max and Paddy". The film Frozen" was filmed in Fleetwood at the end of 2003 and beginning of 2004. This film was launched at the London Film Festival last November and has just won the prize for best cinematography and the Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival in the US.
	In November 2000 we introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over. Information on the number of beneficiaries by constituency is not available. However, according to Department for Work and Pensions records, the number of households in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 7,800.
	We have changed the licensing laws to allow people to hold and attend commercial dances on Sunday, to make it easier for restaurants to open an hour later, and to relax the alcohol licensing hours from 11pm on new year's eve to 11am on new year's day in all future years; and we have given the police greater powers to take action against under-age drinking and disorderly and noisy licensed premises. The Licensing Act 2003, when fully implemented, will introduce a streamlined, consistent and fair licensing regime for the provision of alcohol, public entertainment and late night refreshment. It will provide greater choice for consumers, bring regeneration and increased employment opportunities and protect local residents whose lives have been blighted by disturbance and antisocial behaviour.
	The Gambling Bill will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licenses and local authorities will be able to decide not to issue licenses for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.
	Tourism across the country has benefited from Government-funded marketing and development activity. In April 2003 we established VisitBritain with a new domestic marketing remit for England, and its successful marketing activities in promoting Britain abroad as an attractive tourist destination, benefit all parts of the country, including Blackpool and Fleetwood. In April 2003, the Regional Development Agencies were given strategic responsibility for tourism in the regions, from which Blackpool and Fleetwood have benefited. In 2003, Blackpool borough council was one of six local authorities to participate in a pilot scheme to promote the Fitness for Purpose initiative to help drive up tourism accommodation standards.
	English Heritage has awarded grants worth £505,500 to Blackpool, North and Fleetwood since 2 May 1997, including £379,000 to North Shore Methodist Church, Blackpool from 2002 to 2004 and £126,500 to Wyre borough council for the Fleetwood Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme from 2002 to 2004.
	In common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood are connected to the internet through the People's Network which was funded through a £120 million Lottery grant and which has put all the United Kingdom's public libraries on-line. In addition, the Department is funding the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council with £5 million over three years to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme, which is designed to encourage improvement across the public libraries sector in England.
	The Department has been an energetic advocate of the community and informal learning value of public libraries. Councils in the Northwest area including Blackpool borough council have recognised this value and took part in an initiative called Blackpool Community Network, the result of which was to enable the participating public library service to give public access to a large range of IT facilities in 12 libraries, including Internet Access and MS Office applications. Public libraries in Blackpool North and Fleetwood constituency were among those benefiting from the overall project award of £52,000.
	The DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund has also supplied an award of £178,297 in 2001–02, towards the Smile initiative in Lancashire. This entailed setting up reader development activities aimed at children and young people who have learning difficulties and their families. These activities were supported by the development of 15 multi-media collections and a specially designed website. A proportion of this award was of benefit to the library service in Fleetwood.
	Information from the National Lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Blackpool, North and Fleetwood has benefited from 177 awards totalling over £5.2 million. Of these, 45 awards worth over £2 million were made by the New Opportunities Fund which was established by the Government in 1999. The New Opportunities Fund merged with the Community Fund in June 2004 to form the Big Lottery Fund.

Licensing Fees (Amateur Sports Clubs)

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many representations the Department has received on the proposed increase in licensing fees for amateur sports clubs; and what response the Department has made;
	(2)  what representations she has received from the Central Council for Physical Recreation on the proposed increases in licensing fees for amateur sports clubs.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 3 March 2005
	There were 97 responses to the consultation on fee levels to be set by the Secretary of State under the Licensing Act 2003 from sports clubs and their representative bodies, including the Central Council for Physical Recreation. We considered the views expressed to us by all respondents including those of sports clubs. On balance we concluded from the evidence that we had underestimated costs of the new regime and that it would be necessary to increase the fee levels generally. We set out our reasons for increasing the fee levels in detail most recently during the debate in the Second Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation on 23 February 2005.

Regional Sports Boards

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list (a) the budgets and (b) the operating costs for each of the Regional Sports Boards in the last year for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 3 March 2005
	Details of the 2004–05 budget for the public expenditure (Exchequer and lottery) of Sport England's regional offices are given in the table.
	
		£000
		
			  Awards distributed Direct delivery costs Other running costs Total 
		
		
			 East 9,128 39 989 10,156 
			 East Midlands 14,868 44 1,041 15,953 
			 London 12,802 60 1,066 13,927 
			 North East 11,915 46 930 12,891 
			 North West 26,849 74 1,249 28,172 
			 South East 14,514 51 1,333 15,899 
			 South West 10,394 38 952 11,384 
			 West Midlands 13,183 46 1,061 14,290 
			 Yorkshire 9,054 44 1,022 10,120

Sports' Reviews

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list reviews of sport which are in progress (a) which she has initiated and (b) to which the Department is contributing; and when she expects each to report.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 3 March 2005
	In July 2004, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State asked Lord Carter to undertake an independent review of funding for sport. The report is expected to be published shortly.
	In 2004, the Football Association (FA) commissioned a structural review of the organisation. The Department expects to be consulted as part of the review. The review's Independent Chairman, Lord Burns, is expected to report to the FA in summer 2005.
	The Cabinet Office's Regulatory Impact Unit is carrying out a review—of which the Department is co-sponsor—of funding of school and community sport. The report is expected to be published later this month.

TREASURY

Asset Transfers

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the transfer of resources to Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise to reflect transfers of office assets from the Treasury in central London will require additional cost savings to be made by those Departments.

Dawn Primarolo: The annual efficiency savings target of £507 million, to be achieved by 2007–08, was set in the 2004 Spending Review and applies to the integrated Revenue and Customs department. The changes to bring the Eastern end of the Government Offices Great George Street onto the Revenue and Customs balance sheets, as set out in the 2004–05 Spring Supplementary Estimates, do not affect this target.

Child Trust Funds

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many separate items of literature have been sent to parents of children entitled to child trust funds; how many parents have received these to date; how many more are expected to receive them by 5 May; and what the planned cost is of the production and postage of all items of literature about child trust funds to 5 May.

Stephen Timms: Three items of literature have been issued to parents of children eligible for the Child Trust Fund. A letter was sent in November 2004 to let parents know they would be contacted shortly about the Child Trust Fund and that there would be no need to make a claim. Detailed information packs and vouchers to open a Child Trust Fund account started to be sent out in January 2005.
	The Inland Revenue will have sent these items to around 1.6 million parents of eligible children by the beginning of May 2005.
	The planned cost of production and postage of these items is approximately £2,200,000.

Child Trust Funds

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) the cost to date and (b) the planned cost to May of the Government's advertising campaign for child trust funds is.

Stephen Timms: Total media spend on advertising the Child Trust Fund including any related media buying fees and VAT for the period January to March 2005 inclusive is approximately £3.75 million.
	Plans for April are currently being worked on and have not yet been finalised.

Economic Growth

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the quarterly growth rates were for each of the last 17 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. Ihave asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 4 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting quarterly growth rates for each of the last 17 years. (219895)
	The quarterly growth rates for the chained volume measure of GDP at market prices and GDP at current market prices for each of the last 17 years are shown in the attached table, which I am also placing in the House of Commons Library.
	
		Quarterly growth rates for chained volume measure of GDP at market prices and GDP at current market prices, 1988–2004
		
			   Chained volume measure of GDP at market prices GDP at current market prices 
		
		
			 1988 Q1 1.6 3.0 
			 1988 Q2 0.5 2.2 
			 1988 Q3 1.4 3.5 
			 1988 Q4 0.7 3.1 
			 1989 Q1 0.3 2.0 
			 1989 Q2 0.6 1.5 
			 1989 Q3 0.1 2.4 
			 1989 Q4 0.1 2.1 
			 1990 Q1 0.8 2.0 
			 1990 Q2 0.5 3.1 
			 1990 Q3 -1.2 1.5 
			 1990 Q4 -0.6 0.1 
			 1991 Q1 0.0 1.8 
			 1991 Q2 -0.3 1.3 
			 1991 Q3 -0.4 0.9 
			 1991 Q4 0.1 1.5 
			 1992 Q1 0.3 1.2 
			 1992 Q2 -0.3 0.8 
			 1992 Q3 0.6 0.5 
			 1992 Q4 0.5 0.6 
			 1993 Q1 0.6 1.8 
			 1993 Q2 0.6 1.0 
			 J993 Q3 1.0 2.2 
			 1993 Q4 1.2 1.5 
			 1994 Q1 1.1 1.4 
			 1994 Q2 1.4 1.3 
			 1994 Q3 1.0 1.0 
			 1994 Q4 0.7 2.1 
			 1995 Q1 0.4 1.1 
			 1995 Q2 0.8 1.3 
			 1995 Q3 0.4 1.2 
			 1995 Q4 0.8 1.6 
			 1996 Q1 0.8 1.8 
			 1996 Q2 0.3 1.6 
			 1996 Q3 0.9 1.3 
			 1996 Q4 1.2 1.0 
			 1997 Q1 0.5 2.3 
			 1997 Q2 1.0 1.4 
			 1997 Q3 0.4 0.9 
			 1997 Q4 1.3 1.9 
			 1998 Q1 0.6 1.3 
			 1998 Q2 0,5 1.4 
			 1998 Q3 1.1 2.1 
			 1998 Q4 0.7 0.9 
			 1999 Q1 0.4 0.8 
			 1999 Q2 0.5 1.4 
			 1999 Q3 1.1 1.6 
			 1999 Q4 1.3 1.2 
			 2000 Q1 1.2 2.0 
			 2000 Q2 0.7 0.5 
			 2000 Q3 0.7 1.2 
			 2000 Q4 0.3 0.6 
			 2001 Q1 0.8 1.7 
			 2001 Q2 0.5 1.1 
			 2001 Q3 0.5 0.7 
			 2001 Q4 0.4 1.7 
			 2002 Q1 0.3 0.8 
			 2002 Q2 0.4 1.4 
			 2002 Q3 0.9 1.9 
			 2002 Q4 0.3 0.7 
			 2003 Q1 0.4 1.5 
			 2003 Q2 0.4 0.8 
			 2003 Q3 0.9 2.2 
			 2003 Q4 1.0 1.0 
			 2004 Q1 0.6 1.2 
			 2004 Q2 1.0 1.5 
			 2004 Q3 0.5 0.8 
			 2004 Q4 0.7 1.4

Employment Statistics

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of (a) unemployment, (b) long-term unemployment and (c) youth unemployment in each borough of London has been in each year since 1997; and how many individuals this represented in each case.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Sarah Teather, dated 7 March 2005
	As National Statistician, 1 have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (212371)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. The attached three tables show the levels and rates for the unemployed, long-term unemployed, and youth unemployment for each of the Greater London boroughs.
	These estimates from the LFS are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas. The attached three tables show the annual average number of JSA claimants resident in each of the London boroughs for each year from 1997 to 2004. This table also shows corresponding figures for JSA claimants aged 18–24 years and the total claiming for over 12 months.
	Since the information in these tables is so extensive, copies have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Employment Statistics

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average percentage change in lone parent employment was between (a) 1992 and 1997 and (b) 1998 and 2003.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Willetts, dated 7 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about lone parents in employment. (219552)
	The attached table shows the information requested, based on estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
	These estimates from the LFS are, as with any statistical sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	
		Lone parents(1) in employment 1992 to 2003
		
			 Three month periods ending May Period Lone parents in employment (Thousand) Change (Thousand) Percentage change Annual average percentage change(2) 
		
		
			 1992 1992 to 1997 572 145 25.3 4.6 
			 1997 1997 to 2003 716 234 32.6 4.8 
			 1998 1998 to 2003 788 162 20.5 3.8 
			 2003 — 950 — — — 
		
	
	(1)Defined as people who are not married or cohabiting with dependent children aged 0–15 or 16–18 and in full-time education.
	(2)Annual average percentage changes calculated as annualised percentage increases over the relevant periods.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

EU Partnership Projects

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list partnership projects with the institutions of the EU for which UK Government provided funding in the past two financial years.

Stephen Timms: A large number of lines within the European Communities' Budget support activities that are co-financed by member states. Examples include projects supported by the Union's Structural Funds, Trans-European Networks, and Police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters (AGIS) programmes. Individual Government departments are responsible for projects undertaken with EC Budget co-financing and the Government do not keep a centralised record of those which take place in the UK.

Gershon Report

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what percentage of the savings identified by the Gershon Report relate to (a) UK-wide expenditure, (b) Great Britain-wide expenditure, (c) Scotland only expenditure, (d) England only expenditure, (e) Wales only expenditure, (f) Northern Ireland only expenditure, (g) England and Wales expenditure and (h) other spending; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: The remit for Sir Peter Gershon's reviewdid not include the spending of the devolved Administrations. Where spending is not devolved, SirPeter's report does not allocate savings to specific areas of the country.

Income Tax

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of income tax liabilities in the latest financial year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) gender and (b) 10-year age bands.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to table 3.2 Distribution of median and mean income by age range and sex, 2002–03" on the Inland Revenue website http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/tables3_2.pdf

Job Creation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the employment rate is; and what assessment he has made of the trend in the level of job creation in the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The current working age employment rate in the UK is 74.9 per cent. Over the last five years, employment levels have grown by 315,000 jobs a year on average, a growth rate of 1 per cent., and UK employment levels are at a record high.

National Insurance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the payment of national insurance by sub-postmasters.

Dawn Primarolo: The remuneration of a sub-postmaster is liable to Class 1 NICs as earnings from an office. When he or she runs a business in addition to the post office, they are also self-employed and therefore liable to pay Class 2 and Class 4 contributions up to an annual maximum. Changes, effective from April 2003, provide that where sub-postmasters include their salary in the profits from the retail business they will no longer pay Class 4 NICs on their earnings from the post office.

Palestine

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role his Department is taking in international attempts to facilitate economic regeneration in Palestine.

Stephen Timms: The Chancellor takes a keen interest in the economic aspects of the Middle East Peace Process and the economic regeneration of the Palestinian Territories. The Chancellor has held meetings with the Finance Minister of the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the World Bank and key private sector participants. The Treasury works closely with DFID and the FCO and the International Financial Institutions on the economic aspects of the regeneration of the Palestinian Territories.

Residence Changes

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the population changed residence in each year since 1979.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Willetts, dated 7 March 2005
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what percentage of the population changed residence in each year since 1979. (219557)
	The Census obtains information about address changes in the year before the Census. The percentages of people who were listed as having changed address in the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses are given in the table below.
	
		All people—England and Wales
		
			All people Percentage of these who changed address in the year before the Census 
		
		
			 1981 48,521,596 9.45 
			 1991 49,890,277 9.69 
			 2001 52,041,916 12.18 
		
	
	Sources:
	Table 2 in Census 1981 National Migration Great Britain part 2 (10% Tables), table 2 in 1991 Census Migration Great Britain part2 (10% Tables) and Table KS24 Census 2001 National report for England and Wales part 2
	The 1981 data has been taken from Table 2 in Census 1981 National Migration Great Britain Part 2 (10% Tables)". The 1991 data has been taken from Table 2 in 1991 Census Migration Great Britain Part 2 (10% Tables)". The 2001 data has been taken from KS24 in the Census 2001 National Report for England and Wales Part 2". All of these publications are available in the House of Commons Library.
	Data are not available for the other years requested. While ONS produces estimates for internal migration, the main data source used only records the number of moves based on patients moving across Former Health Service Authority boundaries, patients changing their doctor and re-registering. Therefore many local moves are not recorded in this administrative source. This reason means that the percentage of the population moving cannot be calculated from these data.

Stamp Duty

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue impact for each of the next five years of raising the stamp duty threshold in Scotland to (a) £100,000, (b) £120,000 and (c) £150,000.

John Healey: A reliable estimate of the revenue impact of raising the stamp duty threshold is not available for countries and regions within the UK.

Tax Credits

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why people are being advised not to contact their hon. Member if they have sought the adjudication route to deal with a tax credit query.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue's Code of Practice 1 'Putting things right' explains their procedure for handling complaints. It is neither their policy nor practice to advise claimants not to contact their MP.

Tax Credits

Michael Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact of the child tax credit on the income levels of the poorest 20 per cent. of families.

Dawn Primarolo: Chart 5.1 of the Pre Budget Report 2004 (Cm 6408) shows that as a result of tax credits the average gains to families with children in the bottom two deciles of the overall income distribution will be about £37 per week by 2005. It would not be particularly meaningful to separate the impact of child tax credit from working tax credit, as together they form an integrated system of financial support.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many of the cases in 2004–05 where the Inland Revenue contacted child care providers to verify the details that had been provided by the claimant, the child care element of child tax credit was (a) reduced and (b) stopped.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested will not be available until later this year.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a specific tax credit for volunteers during the year of the volunteer.

Dawn Primarolo: The Home Secretary and the Chancellor have asked Ian Russell, Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Power plc, to propose a new national framework for youth volunteering. His review is due to report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary shortly. The issue of financial support for volunteers is being tackled as part of that review.

Tax Credits

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis his Department estimated the cost of increasing the subsidy rate in the child care element of the working tax credit from 70 per cent. to 80 per cent. in the pre-Budget report 2004.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of increasing the proportion of eligible childcare costs covered from 70 per cent. to 80 per cent. was derived using the Department's tax-benefit model, which uses 2002–03 Family Resources Survey calibrated to tax credits administrative data. The figures are consistent with our latest December 2004 administrative data.

UK Population (Immigration)

John Stanley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely increase in the population of the UK as a result of immigration in all forms over the next 30 years.

Stephen Timms: The latest (2003-based) population projections by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) were published in September 2004. A note detailing the impact of the assumed level of net migration on projected population growth over the 28year period from 2003 to 2031 is available from the GAD website at http://www.gad.gov.uk/Population/2003/methodology/mignote.htm.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

14–19 Reform

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost was of the working group on 14–19 reform chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson; and how much was spent on (a) research and (b) administration costs.

Stephen Twigg: The cost of the working group on 14–19 reform, chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson, was some £1.3 million over the period of 18 months. This figure includes the cost of research, much of which was undertaken by members themselves. In addition, the running costs of the departmental staff supporting the working group amounted to some £400,000.

Broadband Access (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Coventry South have broadband internet access.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 3 March 2005
	By the end of December 2004, 100 per cent. of primary and secondary schools had broadband connections in Coventry LEA. This compares to 69 per cent. primary schools, 99 per cent. secondary schools and 72 per cent. all schools in England with high speed broadband connections. We are on track to connect all schools by 2006.

Class Sizes

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools was in 2004 in (i) Greater London and (ii) each Greater London borough.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Maintained primary and secondary schools(3): Average class size taught by one teacher(4)—January 2004 by London local education authorities
		
			  Average class size 
			  Maintained primary Maintained secondary 
		
		
			 London 26.6 21.8 
			 Inner London 26.2 22.2 
			 Camden 27.0 20.6 
			 City of London 29.5 (5)— 
			 Hackney 26.1 22.7 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 25.2 22.6 
			 Haringey 27.4 21.2 
			 Islington 25.7 22.9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 26.0 22.0 
			 Lambeth 25.7 22.0 
			 Lewisham 25.8 21.9 
			 Newham 27.3 23.8 
			 Southwark 25.5 23.2 
			 Tower Hamlets 26.0 22.9 
			 Wandsworth 25.9 22.1 
			 Westminster 25.9 20.0 
			 Outer London 26.8 21.6 
			 Barking and Dagenham 25.8 21.4 
			 Barnet 27.0 20.3 
			 Bexley 27.5 22.4 
			 Brent 27.3 21.1 
			 Bromley 27.2 21.0 
			 Croydon 27.1 22.9 
			 Ealing 26.5 22.7 
			 Enfield 27.9 21.0 
			 Greenwich 25.7 21.6 
			 Harrow 26.3 23.0 
			 Havering 27.1 22.0 
			 Hillingdon 26.5 21.0 
			 Hounslow 26.1 21.3 
			 Kingston upon Thames 27.0 20.9 
			 Merton 25.4 24.1 
			 Redbridge 27.5 20.6 
			 Richmond upon Thames 26.6 24.3 
			 Sutton 27.6 20.8 
			 Waltham Forest 26.1 22.9 
		
	
	(3)Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(4)A sample of classes being taught at a particular point in the school timetable on the day of the Census in January.
	(5)Not applicable. No schools of this type.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census

Classroom Assistants

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time classroom assistants were (i) recruited and (ii) employed in each London borough in 2004.

Stephen Twigg: Information on the number of teaching assistants recruited annually is not collected centrally.
	The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants employed in each London local education authority in January 2004. (Separate totals for full and part-time teachers are not available).
	
		Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants in maintained nursery, primary, secondary, special and pupil referral units—January 2004
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 City of London 10 
			 Camden 550 
			 Greenwich 750 
			 Hackney 610 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 360 
			 Islington 520 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 270 
			 Lambeth 720 
			 Lewisham 620 
			 Southwark 900 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,070 
			 Wandsworth 590 
			 Westminster 330 
			 Barking and Dagenham 560 
			 Barnet 850 
			 Bexley 550 
			 Brent 560 
			 Bromley 540 
			 Croydon 950 
			 Ealing 630 
			 Enfield 970 
			 Haringey 810 
			 Harrow 480 
			 Havering 590 
			 Hillingdon 670 
			 Hounslow 550 
			 Kingston upon Thames 310 
			 Merton 370 
			 Newham 1,190 
			 Redbridge 730 
			 Richmond upon Thames 250 
			 Sutton 370 
			 Waltham Forest 670 
			   
			 London 19,900 
		
	
	Note:
	Information is rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Annual School Census

Cross-border Tracking

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what cross-border tracking of children in education takes place between English and Welsh local education authorities.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 4 March 2005
	My Department has developed a secure data transfer site for schools and local education authorities, called 'School to School'. In co-operation with the Department for Training and Education in Wales, this facility has been available to Welsh schools and local education authorities since May 2004, thus enabling them to track cross-border movements of pupils. My Department does not itself track such movements.

Departmental Policies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Coventry South constituency, the effects on the constituency of changes to her Department's policies since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: The Coventry South constituency lies within Coventry local education authority. The most recent Key Stage 2 and GCSE and equivalents Achievement for pupils attending schools in Coventry South are given in the following tables.
	
		Key Stage 2 Achievements of 11-year-old pupils attending schools in the Coventry South constituency—Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above
		
			  1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997 to 2004 
		
		
			 Coventry South—English(6) 60 76 16 
			 Coventry South—Maths(6) 59 70 11 
			 National average—English(7) 63 78 15 
			 National average—Maths(7) 61 74 13 
		
	
	(6)Pupils attending schools in Coventry South constituency.
	(7)The average for all schools in England (including independent schools).
	
		GCSE and equivalents(8) Achievement of 15-year-old pupils(9) attending schools in the Coventry South Constituency
		
			 Percentage of 15-year-olds gaining 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997 to 2004 
		
		
			 Coventry South—5 + A*-C 39.6 47.8 8.2 
			 Coventry South—5 + A*-G 83.9 85.8 1.9 
			 National average—5+ A*-C 45.1 53.7 8.6 
			 National average—5+ A*-G 87.0 88.8 1.8 
		
	
	(8)For 2004 only results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
	(9)As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August, and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
	At national level, standards have improved across all key stages. The Primary and Key Stage 3 National Strategies, together with the measures we have taken to help schools in the toughest areas are continuing to deliver better results.
	Further information by constituency, is provided within the Department's In Your Area";website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea. Where information is not available at the constituency level it has been provided at local education authority level.
	This website allows users to access key facts and local information about education and skills based on postcodes. The data available within the site offers comparisons between 1997 and the latest available year and covers five geographies. These are parliamentary constituency, ward, local authority district, local education authority and Government Office region. England figures are also provided.
	The information available within the website is grouped in a number of broad categories including Literacy and Numeracy at age 11, Literacy and Numeracy at age 14, GCSE/GNVQ results, Pupils with Special Educational Needs, School Initiatives, School Workforce, School Funding and Resources, Children's Social Services, Early Years, Class Sizes, Post-16, Higher Education and Adult Education.
	Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, my Department is investigating ways in which we can disseminate more information about the effects of our policies at a local level. The In Your Area website will be further developed over the coming months to include additional information about Adult Education, School Funding, School Initiatives, School Performance, School Workforce and Post 16.

Departmental Policies

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Huddersfield constituency, the effects on Huddersfield of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997, with particular reference to (a) exam results, (b) university applications, (c) teaching staff numbers and (d) school funding.

Stephen Twigg: The Huddersfield constituency lies within Kirklees local education authority. The most recent Key Stage 2 and GCSE and equivalents achievement for pupils attending schools in Huddersfield are given in the following tables:
	(a) Examination results
	
		Key Stage 2 achievements of 11-year-old pupils attending schools in the Huddersfield constituency
		
			 Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Huddersfield—English(10) 51 68 17 
			 Huddersfield—Maths(10) 51 66 15 
			 National average—English(11) 63 78 15 
			 National average—Maths(11) 61 74 13 
		
	
	(10)Pupils attending schools in Huddersfield constituency.
	(11)The average for all schools in England (including independent schools).
	
		GCSE and equivalents(12) achievement of 15-year-old pupils(13) attending schools in the Huddersfield constituency
		
			 Percentage of 15-year-olds gaining 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Huddersfield—5+ A*-C 33.5 40.5 7.0 
			 Huddersfield—5+ A*-G 81.4 86.2 4.8 
			 National average—5+ A*-C 45.1 53.7 8.6 
			 National average—5+ A*-G 87.0 88.8 1.8 
		
	
	(12)For 2004 only results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
	(13)As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
	(b) University applications:
	Applications are not held at constituency level. The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and covers 18 to 20-year-old applicants accepted through UCAS to full-time first degree and HND courses.
	
		18 to 20-year-old applicants accepted through UCAS to full-time undergraduate courses at UK institutions
		
			  1996/97 2003/04 Increase (percentage) 
		
		
			 Kirklees LEA 1,368 1,754 28 
			 National (England) 170,016 218,640 29 
		
	
	Source:
	Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
	(c) Teaching staff:
	
		FTE(14) of regular qualified teachers in primary and secondary schools in England(15)
		
			  Primary Secondary 
			  1997 2004 difference 1997 2004 difference 
		
		
			 Huddersfield constituency(16) 350 340 -10 300 320 20 
			 Kirklees LEA(17) 1,600 1,650 50 1,540 1,620 80 
			 England(17) 190,000 195,100 5,100 189,430 211,000 21,570 
		
	
	(14)FTE—Full Time Equivalent is the total number of full-time teachers plus the equivalent number of part-time teachers based on the proportion of the full-time rate that they are employed.
	(15)The position at January of each year, includes Middle Schools as deemed.
	(16)Source : Annual School Census.
	(17)Source: DfES 618G survey.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	
		Number of teaching assistant(18) in maintained nursery, primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units in England(19)
		
			  1997 2004 difference 
		
		
			 Huddersfield constituency(20) 170 310 140 
			 Kirklees LEA(21) 580 1,280 700 
			 National(21) 60,600 133,400 72,800 
		
	
	(18)Teaching assistants includes nursery assistants, special needs support staff and minority ethnic pupil support staff.
	(19)The position at January of each year.
	(20)Source: Annual School Census.
	(21)Source: DfES 618G survey.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	(d) School funding:
	
		Real terms(22) funding per pupil aged 3 to 19
		
			Change since 1997 
			  1997/98 2004/05 £ Real Percentage Real 
		
		
			 Kirklees LEA 2,770 3,790 1,020 37 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 2,770 3,750 990 36 
			 National 2,900 3,850 950 33 
		
	
	(22)Real terms figures are based on GDP deflators as at 30 June 2004 (2003–04 prices).
	Notes:
	1.2004–05 and 2003–04 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited. Updates will be available in the autumn.
	2.Figures reflect education Standard Spending Assessment/Education Formula Spending settlement (all sub-blocks) plus revenue grants in DfES departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to EFS pupils aged 3 to 19.
	3.Figures exclude Education Maintenance Allowance and grants not allocated at LEA level and the pensions transfer to EFS and Learning and Skills Council for 2003–04 and 2004–05.
	4.The pupil numbers used are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3yos maintained pupils, estimated 3 to 4-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.
	5.1997–98 figures for LEAs subject to local government reorganisation in that year have been estimated, pro-rata to their post LGR figures.
	6.Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 so may not sum.
	At national level, standards have improved across all key stages. The Primary and Key Stage 3 National Strategies, together with the measures we have taken to help schools in the toughest areas are continuing to deliver better results.
	Further information by constituency, is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea. Where information is not available at the constituency level it has been provided at local education authority level.
	This website allows users to access key facts and local information about education and skills based on postcodes. The data available within the site offers comparisons between 1997 and the latest available year and covers five geographies. These are Parliamentary constituency, Ward, Local Authority District, Local Education Authority and Government Office Region. England figures are also provided.
	The information available within the website is grouped in a number of broad categories including Literacy and Numeracy at age 11, Literacy and Numeracy at age 14, GCSE / GNVQ results, Pupils with Special Educational Needs, School Initiatives, School Workforce, School Funding and Resources, Children's Social Services, Early Years, Class Sizes, Post 16, Higher Education and Adult Education.
	Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, my Department is investigating ways in which we can disseminate more information about the effects of our policies at a local level. The In Your Area website will be further developed over the coming months to include additional information about Adult Education, School Funding, School Initiatives, School Performance, School Workforce and Post 16.

Education

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she has taken to increase the number of teachers in state schools in Battersea.

Stephen Twigg: We are committed to improving recruitment and retention of teachers. Nationally, there are around 29,000 more qualified teachers working in schools than there were in 1997. In Wandsworth, the latest statistics show that teacher vacancies have fallen from 3.8 per cent. in 2002 to 2.1 per cent. in 2004.
	We have put in place a number of measures nationally to improve recruitment and retention. For example, graduates training to teach receive bursaries of up to £6,000; and new teachers of shortage subjects receive golden hellos of up to £4,000 on starting teaching.
	In London, the London Challenge seeks to make London a world leader for secondary education, including making London one of the most attractive places to teach. Significant changes have been made, including the introduction of a new inner London pay scale. For example, an experienced classroom teacher at the start of the upper pay scale in London now earns £34,851, compared to £29,385 outside London. From April 2004, teachers working in London have been able to apply for interest-free equity loans of up to £100,000, through the London Challenge Key Teacher Homebuy scheme, in order to be able to afford a home in London.
	The Chartered London Teacher status is now available to teachers working in London. It rewards the skills and expertise of London teachers and provides a one-off payment of £1,000 for those who achieve the status, and provides recognition of professional achievement that teachers will carry with them throughout their careers. And a new 'Preferred Supply Agency' list has been established to make it easier for Headteachers to access agencies which endeavour to provide better trained teachers and better value for money.
	Furthermore, London Challenge is funding a teacher recruitment project, to offer a free teacher recruitment service to London schools in challenging circumstances for September 2005. Through this project, GOL are working with Battersea Technology College. GOL has already met with the head teacher to discuss staffing needs and is creating a pool of candidates for vacant posts. Currently, the staffing picture across Battersea in both primary and secondary schools is stable.

Education

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget was for the Brighton and Hove local education authority in each year since 1997–98.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested is only available from 2000–01 onwards and is contained within the following table.
	
		Brighton and Hove LEA's total net revenue education budget(23) since 2000–01(24) -- Total Education Revenue
		
			  Expenditure(25) (£) 
		
		
			 2000–01 88,085,000 
			 2001–02 95,533,000 
			 2002–03 100,379,000 
			 2003–04 106,061,000 
			 2004–05 113,247,000 
		
	
	(23)Financial data is drawn from the net column of the Total Education Revenue Expenditure line of the Section 52 Budget Statement (Table 1) submitted by Brighton and Hove LEA to the department
	(24)Section 52 budget data has only been collected since financial year 2000–01.
	(25)Figures are as reported by the LEA in cash terms rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Education

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were in classes of 31 or more in infant schools and infant classes in primary schools in Brighton and Hove in each year since 1996–97.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Maintained primary schools (26): number of pupils in key stage 1 classes of 31 or more pupils taught by one teacher—1997 to 2004 -- Position in January each year
		
			  Brighton and Hove local education authority 
			   Number of pupils in classes of 31 or more 
			  Total pupils in all classes Number of pupils Percentage of pupils (27) 
		
		
			 1997(28) 22,141 10,130 45.8 
			 1998 7,080 3,422 48.3 
			 1999 6,988 2,811 40.2 
			 2000 6,709 2,262 33.7 
			 2001 6,517 408 6.3 
			 2002 6,432 0 0.0 
			 2003 6,353 32 0.5 
			 2004 6,795 31 0.5 
		
	
	(26)Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(27)Percentage of pupils in those classes expressed as a percentage of pupils in all classes taught by one teacher.
	(28)Before Local Government Reorganisation (was East Sussex LEA).
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census

Education

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many full-time equivalent teachers were working in maintained schools in Brighton and Hove in each year since 1996–97.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been published in the Statistics of Education, School Workforce in England Volume, 2004 edition, annex table A2 refers. A copy of this publication has been placed in the House of Commons Library. Alternatively it is available at the following URL: www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000554/index.shtml

Education

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much capital funding was allocated to schools in Brighton and Hove in each year since 1996–97.

Stephen Twigg: The following table sets out the total capital resources allocated to Brighton and Hove local education authority, and schools in its area, since 1997. Information is not held centrally for 1996–97 when Brighton and Hove was part of East Sussex LEA. Decisions on how resources should be invested in schools are taken by the local education authority in accordance with locally prepared asset management plans.
	
		£000
		
			 LEA Brighton and Hove 
		
		
			 1997–98 3,926 
			 1998–99 4,467 
			 1999–2000 6,139 
			 2000–01 8,161 
			 2001–02 29,193 
			 2002–03 6,856 
			 2003–04 7,338 
			 2004–05 13,357 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.2001–02 figures includes Private Finance Initiative credits of £24.5 million
	2.2004–05 figures include Targeted Capital Funding of £6.8 million

Further Education (Funding)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the funding gap is between school sixth forms and further education colleges; and what plans her Department has to reduce the funding spending gap.

Kim Howells: In 2002/03 the difference between the AS/A2 base rates for school sixth forms and further education colleges was 10.5 per cent.
	At the 2002 Spending Review a record funding increase for the FE sector was delivered. The increased funding enabled the Learning and Skills Council to deliver a 4.5 per cent. increase in funding rates in 2003/04 for all colleges that agreed development plans. In the same year, school sixth form funding rates increased by 3 per cent.—resulting in a narrowing of the funding gap to 9 per cent. FE colleges that delivered against their plans received a further 5 per cent. increase in funding rates for 2004/05 compared with a 4 per cent. increase for schools—a further narrowing of the gap to 8 per cent. We expect a similar step in funding rates in 2005/06, further reducing the gap to 7 per cent.
	Our policy has been to raise the level of funding for colleges, as and when we are able to secure the resources to do so.

Qualifications

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough left school with no qualifications in 2004.

Stephen Twigg: The table shows the proportion of pupils aged 15 at the start of the 2003/04 school year who did not achieve any passes at GCSE and other qualifications approved pre-16 (including entry level qualifications) in each London LEA.
	
		
			 Government Office Region local education authority Number of 15-year-old pupils(29) Percentage of 15-year-old pupils(29)achieving no passes at GCSE and equivalents 
		
		
			 London 73,425 3.7 
			 Camden 1,429 3.9 
			 Hackney 1,283 2.5 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,184 3.0 
			 Haringey 2,164 7.3 
			 Islington 1,411 4.4 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 579 4.7 
			 Lambeth 1,370 2.5 
			 Lewisham 2,294 3.7 
			 Newham 3,137 1.8 
			 Southwark 2,057 5.0 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,468 3.0 
			 Wandsworth 1,868 4.6 
			 Westminster 1,400 4.1 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,956 4.2 
			 Barnet 3,549 4.1 
			 Bexley 3,075 2.6 
			 Brent 2,645 3.2 
			 Bromley 3,618 3.1 
			 Croydon 3,619 3.1 
			 Ealing 2,682 2.5 
			 Enfield 3,431 3.5 
			 Greenwich 2,524 4.6 
			 Harrow 2,222 2.7 
			 Havering 3,068 2.3 
			 Hillingdon 2,933 5.9 
			 Hounslow 2.642 3.6 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,480 3.3 
			 Merton 1,595 6.4 
			 Redbridge 3,016 2.1 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,486 3.2 
			 Sutton 2,628 2.9 
			 Waltham Forest 2,612 6.5 
		
	
	(29)Aged 15 at the start of the 2003/04 academic year, ie. 31 August 2003.
	(30)Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years.

School Medical Facilities

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what requirement there is for medical facilities at (a) junior schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) further education establishments to be staffed.

Margaret Hodge: The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 require every school to have a room appropriate and readily available for use for medical and dental examination and treatment and for the caring of sick or injured pupils. How these are staffed is a matter for local determination. For example, medical and dental examination and treatment will be done by local health professionals under local NHS arrangements, while school staff (such as a first aider) may care for a sick or injured pupil. Further Education sector institutions, as independent corporations, are responsible for the health and safety of their learners and they are responsible for determining what medical facilities or accommodation they need to have in place. The Learning and Skills Council is accountable for ensuring that FE institutions with which it contracts have in place effective arrangements for ensuring the health and safety of learners.

School Toilets

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will discuss with the Office for Standards in Education extending its powers of inspection to cover school toilets for pupils; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The draft framework for inspection, intended to take effect from September 2005, provides among other things, for the care, advice, guidance and other support provided to safeguard welfare, promote personal development and achieve high standards. This includes the arrangements made by a school to care for pupils, and promote and monitor their health and well-being.
	The minimum number of toilets for pupils in maintained schools is controlled by the Education (School Premises) Regulation 1999. Local education authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations. The condition of the facilities is a matter for the school's head teacher and governors as they are responsible for cleaning and maintenance.

Specialist Schools

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of secondary schools in London have applied for specialist status.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 7 March 2005
	Including schools that were designated from the last round in October 2004 as 2005 starters, there are now 262 specialist schools in London which is around 64 per cent. of London secondary schools. In the last round (October 2004) 33 applications were received from London schools of which 23 were successful and 10 did not meet the standard. The next application round is in March 2005.

Surveys

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was to her Department of (a) the 2003 PISA survey and (b) the 2003 TIMSS survey.

Stephen Twigg: The release of information related to contract costs for PISA and TIMSS would prejudice commercial interests during the current procurement exercises for PISA 2006 and TIMSS 2007. I am therefore withholding this information until contracts for both of these studies are in place. This is envisaged to be the end of April 2005 for PISA 2006 and the end of the current calendar year for TIMSS 2007, at which time the information can be disclosed. However, the participation costs between 2002 and 2005 payable to the international co-ordinating bodies, OECD in the case of PISA and IEA in the case of TIMSS, were:
	£372,755.18 for PISA;
	£114,214.56 for TIMSS.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether the Public Service Agreement target for 85 per cent. of 11-year-olds to achieve Level 4 or above and 35 per cent. to achieve Level 5 or above in maths and English by 2004, was met;
	(2)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the number of schools in which fewer than 65 per cent. of 11-year-olds achieve Level 4 by 40 per cent. will be met by 2006;
	(3)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target for 85 per cent. of 14-year-olds to achieve Level 5 or above in English, maths and ICT, will be met by 2007;
	(4)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target for 80 per cent. of 14-year-olds to achieve Level 5 or above in science, will be met by 2007;
	(5)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce significantly the number of schools in which fewer than 60 per cent. of 14-year-olds achieve Level 5 or above, will be met by 2007;
	(6)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target for 90 per cent. of pupils to reach Level 4 in maths and English by age 12, will be met by 2007;
	(7)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target for 85 per cent. of 11-year-olds to achieve Level 4 or above in maths and English by 2006, will be met;
	(8)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target for 50 per cent. of pupils in all schools to achieve Level 5 or above in each of English, maths and science by 2008, will be met;
	(9)  what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to increase the proportion of those aged 16 who get qualifications equivalent to five GCSEs at grades A* to C by two percentage points each year on average between 2002 and 2006, will be met;
	(10)  whether the Public Service Agreement target for 2004 of at least 20 per cent. of pupils in all schools achieving qualifications equivalent to five GCSEs at grades A* to C, was met; and what recent assessment she has made of whether the target for 2006 of 25 per cent. achieving such qualifications, will be met.

Stephen Twigg: The Department publishes progress against all its outstanding public service agreement targets (PSAs) in its annual departmental report and autumn performance report. Progress against PSAs was most recently reported in the 2004 autumn report, published in December 2004, together with the Department's assessment towards achievement of the targets. A copy of the report is available from the House of Commons Library.
	The Spending Review 2002 PSA target for 90 per cent. of pupils to reach level 4 in maths and English by age 12 by 2007 was not assessed in the autumn performance report. In 2004, provisional data shows 82 per cent. of pupils aged 12 achieved level 4 and above in English, and 78 per cent. of pupils aged 12 achieved level 4 and above in maths.
	The Spending Review 2004 PSA target for 50 per cent. of pupils in all schools to achieve level 5 or above in each of English, maths and science by 2008 was not assessed in the autumn performance report. Progress towards this target will be published in a Statistical First Release on 17 March.
	The Spending Review 2004 PSA target of at least 20 per cent. of pupils in all schools achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-C was not assessed in the autumn performance report. Figures published on 13 January 2005 show that in 2004, 71 schools had less than 20 per cent. of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C at GCSE—compared with 112 in 2003 and 361 in 1997. The amended figure for the percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-C in 2004 is 53.7 per cent.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Public Service Agreement target to increase the proportion of 19-year-olds who achieve qualifications equivalent to five GCSEs at grades A* to C by three percentage points between 2002 and 2004 was met; and what recent assessment she has made of whether the target for 2006 to increase the proportion by a further three percentage points will be met.

Stephen Twigg: A Statistical First Release published on 24 February showed that the target for a three percentage points increase in the proportion of 19-year-olds achieving qualifications equivalent to 5GCSEs at grades A* to C had not been met. This is a disappointing result, though this was a very challenging target and there are signals from other sources that we are making some progress. This reinforces the importance of the radical proposals for 14–19 year old education announced in the recent White Paper on 14–19 education.
	Achieving the 2006 target of a further three percentage points will be tough but achievable because of continuing improvement in attainment at 16 as well as our major investment in key reforms such as education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and apprenticeships.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the public service agreement target to make significant progress year on year to reduce rates of non-completion in higher education was met in 2004.

Kim Howells: Information on non-completion rates is published annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The latest figures, which show that rates have decreased since 1997, are given in the table.
	
		Projected non-completion rates(31) in English HEIs—students on full-time first degree courses 
		
			 Students starting courses in:(32) Non-completion rate (percentage) 
		
		
			 1997 16.1 
			 1998 15.8 
			 1999 15.9 
			 2000 15.0 
			 2001 14.1 
		
	
	(31)HESA use a method of projection applied to the cohort of students starting full-time first degree courses in a particular year, based on the assumption that they will move through the system in the same way as current students.
	(32)The majority of these students will be on three-year degree courses, so that those entering in 2001 will be scheduled to complete their courses in 2004.
	Source:
	Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated cost to public funds is of achieving the public service agreement target to increase participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18 to 30 years.

Kim Howells: The majority of the funding made available to the HE sector in England will contribute towards the target to increase participation in higher education. So, too, does funding provided outside of the HE sector which delivers improved attainment in pre-HE learning.
	The following table sets out the details of the funding available to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for the three year period from 2005–06. This gives annual increases in total recurrent grant for teaching of £255/208/209 million and for research of £133/95/90 million. Costs beyond 2007–08 will be dependant on the outcome of the forthcoming spending review.
	
		Financial year: all figures (except the unit of teaching funding which is £ real terms) are £ million in cash terms
		
			  2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 (a) SR2004 outcome recurrent resources for HEFCE and TTA(33) 4,594 4,817 5,039 
			 (b) Of which HEFCE(34) 4,339 4,547 4,753 
			 (c) Public contributions to fees(35) 434 n/a n/a 
			 (d) Student contributions to fees(35) 508 n/a n/a 
			 Total (a+c+d) 5,536   
			 
			 (f) Recurrent resources for research(36) 1,204 1,299 1,389 
			 
			 Resources for capital grants:   
			 (g) IT and other capital 442 468 472 
			 (h) Research 207 236 266 
			 
			 (i) Cost of capital and depreciation(37) -7 -7 -7 
			 Total HEFCE (b+f+g+h+i) 6,186 6,544 6,874 
			 
			 Student numbers (FTEs in thousands)(38) 1,185 1,209 1,232 
			 
			 Real terms unit of funding for teaching(39) 3,490 3,490 3,490 
		
	
	(33)The amounts set out above are the council's resource budgets. They represent the maximum amount of resource that the council may consume in pursuance of the priorities agreed with the Department for the spending review period. The 2007–08 budget includes £9.5 million departmental end-year flexibility planned to be carried forward from 2005–06 and 2006–07. Figures are net of a £67/69/70 million transfer of AHRB resources.
	(34)Figures assume a baseline transfer of £255/270/286 million to the TTA. The resources for each year include funding of £18 million from the Department of Health for clinical academicians' pay and £5 million funding transferred to HEFCE for the dance and drama scheme.
	(35)Figures on the contribution to fees include students to be funded through the TTA.
	(36)The resources exclude funding from DTI and OST for the Science Research Innovation Fund and HE Innovations Fund.
	(37)Capital costs and depreciation are part of the council's resource budgets and the maximum amount of resources it may consume. The amounts shown are subject to review and will be discussed further with the council.
	(38)Student numbers are net of students to be funded through the TTA.
	(39)Figures are in 2003–04 prices rounded to nearest £10. The real terms level of funding for teaching costs are derived from the total level of recurrent resources available to HEFCE to support teaching (ie excluding research, capital and postgraduate stipends), full-time equivalent numbers of students estimated using the whole year count" methodology discussed with HEFCE and the GDP deflators published by HM Treasury on 3 December 2004.

Undergraduates (Bankruptcy)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many undergraduate students in Greater London declared themselves bankrupt in 2004; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: 68 student loan borrowers, whose awarding local education authority is in the Greater London area, notified the Student Loans Company of bankruptcy orders made against them in 2004. This figure includes both graduates and undergraduate borrowers.

University Admissions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2005, Official Report, column 858W on university admissions, whether the review of benchmarks for university admissions has commenced; and when the review will be completed.

Kim Howells: I have asked the Performance Indicators Steering Group (PISG) (the body responsible for approving the content and methodology of the Performance Indicators (PIs) and associated benchmarks) to consider the potential for improvements to the way the current PIs can be presented. The PISG will be undertaking this work during this summer. I will look at any improvements that the PISG consider need to be made, in advance of the next annual publication in autumn 2005.

DEFENCE

Army Legal Services

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the structure is of the Army Legal Services (ALS); how many people are employed by the ALS; and what its duties are.

Ivor Caplin: Army Legal Services (ALS) is a branch of the Adjutant General's Corps. Its all-officer staff (currently 99) are solicitors or barristers, qualified in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Director Army Legal Services is a Major General. The duties of ALS are to provide military legal advice to the Army, be responsible for the conduct of all prosecutions before Army courts-martial and to provide legal advice to Service personnel and their families, where no other source of legal assistance is readily available.

Citizenship Applications

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Army does not sponsor applications from UK armed forces' personnel from elsewhere in the Commonwealth who wish to apply for dual or full British citizenship.

Ivor Caplin: Immigration policy is a matter for the Home Office. British citizenship is not a requirement of service in the British Army. Whether a British Army soldier of Commonwealth nationality seeks to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen during their service is entirely a private matter.

Deaths in Service

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 1254W, on military death (Amesbury), in what non-work related circumstances service personnel may be in control of a Saxon armoured vehicle on a public thoroughfare.

Ivor Caplin: Service personnel may only drive official vehicles during the course of their duties.

Defence Analytical Services Agency

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget the Defence Analytical Services Agency spent in Scotland in (a) monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget in (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: As the Defence Analytical Services Agency does not employ any staff in Scotland, none of its personnel budget is spent there.

Defence Employment (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people worked for the Pay and Personnel Agency (a) in 2003–04 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available; how many were employed in Scotland in each case; and what the personnel costs of the agency (i) were in 2003–04 and (ii)are expected to be in 2004–05.

Ivor Caplin: The Pay and Personnel Agency (PPA) employed 790 full-time equivalent staff in 2003–04. The figures are published in UK Defence Statistics 2004 at Table 2.6. PPA's personnel costs are contained in the agency's annual report and accounts for 2003–04, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Our annual report and accounts for 2003–04 can also be viewed on our external website www.ppa.mod.uk and the main MOD website www.mod.uk/index.shtml
	In 2004–05 the number of people expected to be working for the PPA is 800. The personnel costs in 2004–05 are expected to be £15.15 million. The final figures will appear in the annual report for 2004–05 which will be formally laid before the House before the summer recess at which time copies will be made available in the House of Commons Library and again on the PPA and MOD websites. The Pay and Personnel Agency had no staff working in Scotland in either 2003–04 or 2004–05.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02 the RAF Training Group Defence Agency spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The following table details the civilian personnel employed by Training Group Defence Agency (TGDA) in Scotland. Details of Service personnel employed in this location are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, local figures for financial year 2004–05 indicate that there are no more than approximately 60 Service personnel employed by TGDA in Scotland.
	
		
			  Personnel budget(40) spent in Scotland £ million Percentage of total TGDA personnel budget TGDA civilian personnel employed in Scotland 
		
		
			 1997–98 2.260 1.4 30 
			 1998–99 2.368 1.0 40 
			 1999–2000 2.477 1.0 40 
			 2000–01 2.588 1.0 40 
			 2001–02 2.725 0.9 40 
		
	
	(40)Personnel budget includes salary, training, travel and subsistence and consumable costs.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 the Defence Housing Executives spent in Scotland in (i) monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Housing Executive (DHE) was formed in 1999 and figures are only available from that date. Expenditure on personnel costs for DHE Scotland are given as follows; broken down as requested:
	
		
			 Serial (a) 1 2 3 
			 Financial year (b) 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Personnel Expenditure (£ million) (c) 1.852 1.860 1.854 
			 Percentage of Department Personnel Budget (d) 0.02 0.02 0.02 
			 Number of full-time equivalent personnel working in DHE Scotland (e) 110 100 100 
		
	
	The number of personnel given in column (e) represent full-time equivalents (aggregating part-time posts) and not the actual number of people employed.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what percentage of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 (i) the Defence Estates Agency, (ii) the Defence Dental Agency and (iii) the Defence Communications Services Agency spent in Scotland; how many personnel were employed by each Agency in Scotland in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The figures for personnel budget spend for each agency, and staff figures, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Personnel budget in Scotland 
			 Financial year (£ million) Percentage of total personnel budget Staff employed in Scotland(41) 
		
		
			 Defence Estates (DE) 
			 2001–02 (42)3.440 7.53 Civilian 90 
			Service 5 
			 2000–01 (42)2.637 6.86 Civilian 80 
			Service 1 
			 1999–2000 (42)321 6.64 Civilian 70 
			Service 0 
			 1998–99 (42)1.244 3.92 Civilian 70 
			Service 0 
			 1997–98 (45)— (45)— Civilian 80 
			Service (45)— 
			 Defence Dental Agency (DDA) 
			 2001–02 1.848 5 Civilian 10 
			Service 41 
			 2000–01 1.244 5 Civilian 10 
			Service (45)— 
			 1999–2000 1.557 5 Civilian 10 
			Service (45)— 
			 1998–99 0.939 3 Civilian (44)— 
			Service (45)— 
			 1997–98 (45)— (45)— Civilian (44)— 
			Service (45)— 
			 Defence Communications Services Agency (DCSA) 
			 2001–02 (45)— (45)— Civilian 100 
			Service (45)— 
			 2000–01 (45)— (45)— Civilian 60 
			Service (45)— 
			 1999–2000 (45)— (45)— Civilian 20 
			Service (45)— 
			 1998–99 (45)— (45)— Civilian (44)— 
			Service (45)— 
			 1997–98 (45)— (45)— Civilian (45)— 
			Service 3, 5— 
		
	
	(41)Civilian staff figures are provided by Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) and are quoted in full-time equivalent (FTE) terms, and based on new definitions agreed in 2004. Part-time staff hours are therefore counted proportionately to normal conditioned hours. Unless indicated otherwise, figures indicate staff strength at the start of each financial year. Service personnel figures for Scotland are not held centrally; however, where local figures are available these have been shown. It should be noted that the purpose of collating staff figures, and the statistical method of measurement, may vary between individual agencies and DASA.
	(42)The personnel costs of the Defence Estates Agency includes salaries, performance pay or bonuses, overtime, allowances, social security costs and other pension costs but excludes the cost of early retirements.
	(43)The Defence Communication Services Agency was formed in April 1998; therefore figures for 1997–98 cannot be provided.
	(44)fewer than 5.
	(45)not known, or available only at disproportionate cost.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 the Defence Aviation Repair Agency spent in Scotland (i) in monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: DARA was launched on 1 April 1999.
	The table shows the personnel budget spend and number of personnel employed in Scotland in the Defence Aviation Repair Agency by Financial Year since 1999.
	
		
			 Financial year Personnel budget in Scotland (£ million) Percentage of total personnel budget spent in Scotland Staff employed in Scotland(46) 
		
		
			 2001–02 (47)10.141 (47)7.90% Civilian 370 
			Service 0(47) 
			 2000–01 (48)— (48)— Civilian 360 
			Service 0(47) 
			 1999–2000 (48)— (48)— Civilian 340 
			Service 0(47) 
		
	
	(46)Civilian staff personnel figures are provided by the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) and are quoted in full-time equivalent (FTE) terms. Figures indicate staff strength at the start of each financial year and are based on the new definition of civilian personnel which came into effect on 1 April 2004.
	(47)Information provided by the Defence Aviation Repair Agency from locally held records.
	(48)Not known, or available only at disproportionate cost.
	Both civilian and Service personnel data by Agency are collated annually at 1 April and presented in Table2.6 of UK Defence Statistics, a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library. Further information on personnel figures is also available on the DASA website at www.dasa.mod.uk.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 the Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team spent in Scotland (i) in monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team, which formed in April 2001, had no expenditure on personnel in Scotland for 2001–02. Its predecessor, the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency (DCTA), had no expenditure on personnel in Scotland in 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01.
	Local records held on the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency (DCTA) indicate that there was an overall personnel budget in 1997–98 of £11.8 million of which approximately £1.3 million was spent in Scotland, equating to about 11 per cent. of its budget. Of the 550 full-time equivalent civilian personnel in the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency (DCTA) in 1997–98, 40 were employed in Scotland.
	Both civilian and Service personnel data by Agency are collated annually at 1 April and presented in Table 2.6 of UK Defence Statistics, a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library. Further information on personnel figures is also available on the DASA website at www.dasa.mod.uk.

Defence Service Agencies (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for each financial year since 1997–98 the Army Personnel Centre spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Staff costs and staff numbers are included in the Annual Report and Accounts for the Army Personnel Centre, copies of which are held in the Library of the House. The proportion of staff based outside Scotland is less than one percent.

Departmental Estate

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many acres of vacant, dormant, unused and under-utilised land are owned by his Department; and if he will estimate the number of homes that could be built on the land if it was made available.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 3 March 2005
	Ministry of Defence Land and property in excess of 9,635 acres (3,900 hectares) has been identified as surplus to operational requirements. Given favourable planning frameworks, this amount of land could accommodate between 16,000 to 20,000 new homes over the next decade. It is possible that there are other dormant, vacant or under-utilised MOD sites that have not been declared surplus to operational requirements. The future of such sites will be considered as part of the Department's estate rationalisation studies.

Departmental Records Office (Hayes)

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many agency staff commissioned by TNT have been dismissed from working on the Departmental records office site at Bourne Avenue, Hayes on the grounds of drug abuse on site in the last nine months.

Ivor Caplin: TNT have a strict policy of zero tolerance for drug and alcohol abuse, and random searches of staff entering and leaving the Hayes site are carried out by TNT's security personnel. Two members of TNT's agency staff have been dismissed because they were found in possession of an illegal substance. Five further members of the agency staff have had their employment with TNT terminated because they were suspected of such possession. However, drug abuse on the Hayes site was not substantiated in any of these cases.

Geneva Conventions

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether further investigations are taking place in relation to alleged breaches of the Geneva Convention arising out of Operation Ali Baba; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 27 January 2005
	No criminal investigations are taking place into alleged breaches of the Geneva Convention in relation to Operation Ali Baba although administrative action in relation to potential breaches of the Army's values and standards remains a possibility.

Gulf War-related Illnesses

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what medical testing is available for veterans claiming Gulf War-related illnesses.

Ivor Caplin: In order to adjudicate a claim for a War Pension, a diagnosis of the claimed condition is required. In claims where entitlement is awarded, an up to date description of the accepted condition is necessary to determine the correct assessment of disablement. Wherever possible this information is obtained from service medical documents, a report from a claimant's General Practitioner, relevant hospital case notes or a report from the Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme in cases where a veteran has been referred to this unit by a General Practitioner.
	In those cases where these sources of evidence do not provide the necessary information, a medical examination report, specialist report or audiological report is requested. These reports are based on the results of the clinical history and examination, together with non-invasive tests of function such as pure tone audiometry or simple tests of respiratory function where appropriate. More invasive tests such as blood tests, endoscopy and X-rays are not sanctioned for the purpose of adjudicating claims for war pensions.
	Any Gulf veteran who has concerns about their health may be referred by their doctor to the Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme where they will be interviewed and given a full medical examination.

Gulf War-related Illnesses

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims of Gulf War-related illnesses are waiting to be processed.

Ivor Caplin: This information is not available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much financial compensation has been paid to Iraqi citizens for damage done to Iraqi property as a result of the actions undertaken by British military forces in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has paid approximately £183,000 since cessation of hostilities on 1 May 2003 on compensation claims relating to property damage in Iraq as a result of incidents involving members of HM forces.

Iraq

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will list (a) armoured regiments and (b) artillery regiments that have been deployed in Iraq in an infantry role since the end of hostilities; what the reasons for deployment in this role was in each case; and what assessment he has made of the potential risks of using armoured regiments in an infantry role;
	(2)  what the training time is for artillery and armoured units to (a) re-role in an infantry role and (b) revert to their original roles.

Adam Ingram: Details of Royal Armoured Corps and Royal Artillery units that have deployed in an infantry role in Iraq since the end of hostilities are set out in the following table. It is not unusual for non-infantry units to deploy in an infantry role as every soldier in the British Army is trained as infanteer first, and as a specialist second. Such units would not, however, primarily be deployed in an infantry role during war fighting operations. My hon. Friend may be assured that there is assessed to be no increased risk in deploying such units in this role and that they receive the same pre-deployment training as Infantry Battalions. All units, upon return from an 'out of role' operational tour, will undertake a routinely planned training programme designed to bring it back up to competency in its specialism. The duration of such a training programme will vary according to an individual unit's specialism.
	
		
			 Arm Unit Date 
			 (a) (b) (c) 
		
		
			 Royal Artillery 
			  40th Regiment Royal Artillery July 2003 to November 2003 
			  26th Regiment Royal Artillery November 2003 to May 2004 
			  1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery May 2004 to November 2004 
			  4th Regiment Royal Artillery November 2004 
			 Royal Armoured Corps 
			  2nd Royal Tank Regiment June 2003 to November 2003 
			  Queens Royal Hussars November 2003 to May 2004 
			  Queens Royal Lancers May 2004 to November 2004 
			  Royal Dragoon Guards November 2004

Missile Defence

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions have taken place between the US and UK about RAF Menwith Hill becoming a component of the American Missile Defence System; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: There has been no request from the United States to use facilities at RAF Menwith Hill for missile defence purposes. The position remains as set out in my answer of 26 April 2004, Official Report, column 727W, to the hon. Member.

Parachutists

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the parachute battalions are in receipt of parachute pay.

Ivor Caplin: Figures for the members of parachute battalions in receipt of parachute pay are as follows:
	
		Number of members of the three parachute battalions in receipt of parachute pay as at the 1 January 2005
		
			 Parachute battalion Number receiving parachute pay 
		
		
			 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment 540 
			 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment 515 
			 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment 505 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The figures quoted are as at 1 January 2005 and are for UK Regular Trained Army Officers and Soldiers only and therefore exclude TA, Mobilised Reserves, Full Time Reserve Service, Gurkhas and Home Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment.
	2.The figures do not include officers and soldiers in the Parachute Regiment that are serving outside the battalion, or personnel from other cap badges that are attached to the battalion. The officer element excludes personnel with the rank of colonel and above.
	3.All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

RAF

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the drop-out rate for 16 to 24-year-olds from the Royal Air Force has been in each year since 1997.

Ivor Caplin: The outflow of 16 to 24-year-olds from the Royal Air Force for each year since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage outflow rate 
		
		
			 1997–98 7.1 
			 1998–99 7.5 
			 1999–2000 7.0 
			 2000–01 7.9 
			 2001–02 7.2 
			 2002–03 6.8 
			 2003–04 7.2 
		
	
	Figures are based on all outflow from the untrained and trained start strength and intake for RAF regular personnel aged 16 to 24 for each financial year. They exclude Full Time Reserve Service and mobilised reserves personnel.
	Figures on outflows by age are published annually in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 19 'Intake to and Outflow from UK Regular Forces'.

RAF

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF recruits in 2004 were from (a) London and (b) Essex.

Ivor Caplin: In financial year 2004–05, the number of personnel who applied to join the RAF at Armed Forces Career Offices located in London and Essex, and were subsequently recruited, are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  London Essex 
		
		
			 Officers and non-commissioned aircrew 13 3 
			 Other ranks 26 25

Regiments

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many representations he has received supporting the separate future of each of the three regiments due to merger into the Kings, Lancashire and Border Regiment;
	(2)  which (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) members of the Army Board (i) visited and (ii) met with representatives of each of the three regiments to discuss the merger into the Kings, Lancashire and Border Regiment.

Adam Ingram: As I have made clear in my previous answers to the hon. Member, the process of infantry restructuring involved a wide-ranging and detailed consultation exercise with the infantry being invited to express their views on how the restructuring should be implemented. As part of that process, Colonels Commandant of the Divisions of Infantry represented their views to the Executive Committee of the Army Board both in writing and in person.
	I am not aware that any officials have met representatives of the regiments to which the hon. Member refers, but both the Defence Secretary and I have met representatives of various regiments and regimental associations. In addition I have received numerous representations from hon. Members and members of the public in support of all our infantry regiments.

Trident

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will allow independent monitors to test for radioactive contamination at the Trident nuclear base on the Clyde.

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether testing for radioactive contamination takes place at sites up to (a) one mile, (b) five miles and (c) 20 miles from the Trident nuclear base on the Clyde;
	(2)  what the current level of radioactive contamination in the (a) water, (b) air and (c) land around the Trident nuclear base on the Clyde is.

Geoff Hoon: Routine independent sampling for radioactive contamination around HM Naval Base Clyde is carried out annually by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and involves a wide range of tests on air and land samples at numerous sites up to five miles from the naval base. These tests are environmentally diverse and involve rigorous scientific testing of the entire terrain. The results are published annually in SEPA's Radioactivity in Food and Environment Report, which is available on their website at www.sepa.org.uk. The latest available report, which was published in 2003, verifies that existing discharge arrangements between SEPA and the Ministry of Defence provide effective control over the levels of radioactivity that are discharged into the environment. No tests are carried out of water samples, as this source would not yield a reliable indication of the impact of contamination.
	As an additional measure, the MOD carries out its own annual routine air and land samples, the results of which are published in the Marine Environmental Radioactivity Surveys at Nuclear Submarine Berths report (ISBN 11773019X). The latest version was published in December 2004 and is available from www.tso.co.uk.

CABINET OFFICE

Alcohol Policies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish the report, Alcohol Policies", produced in 1979 by the Central Policy Review Staff.

David Miliband: In common with other Cabinet Office records, the report will be considered for transfer to the National Archives after 30 years. The 1979 report is due to be transferred to the National Archives in 2010.

Civil Servants

Kate Hoey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to issue guidance on the conduct of civil servants during and in the period leading up to the referendum on the European Constitution; and who will be responsible for enforcing the guidance.

David Miliband: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (John Cryer) on 18 January 2005, Official Report, column 899W.

Civil Servants

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants were (a) suspended and (b) sacked in each year since 2001 for gross professional misconduct; and in which Department each was employed.

David Miliband: Information on the numbers of civil servants who were suspended and sacked for gross professional misconduct is not collected centrally.

Civil Servants

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants were (a) suspended and (b) sacked in each year since 2001 under suspicion of breaching the Official Secrets Act 1989; and in which department each was employed.

David Miliband: Information on the numbers of civil servants who were suspended and sacked for breaching the Official Secrets Act 1989 is not collected centrally.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Business Rates

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total subsidy provided by central Government to fund the transitional regime in respect of business rates was for the period 2000–01 to 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: The 2000 transitional scheme was designed to be revenue neutral but the Exchequer has had to make good the shortfall in revenue as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2000–01 415 
			 2001–02 262 
			 2002–03 41 
			 2003–04 111 
			 2004–05 (49)59 
		
	
	(49)Estimated

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average Band D level of council tax was in (a) 1997–98 and (b) 2004–05 in (i) two-tier local government areas, (ii) unitary councils in England, (iii) Metropolitan boroughs and (iv) London boroughs.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is shown in Table 2.2f of Local Government Financial Statistics, England, No. 15 2004", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The table can also be found at http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/lgfs/lgfs15/tables/lgfs15–2-2f.xls.

Design

Alan Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who the ministerial design champion for his Department is.

Yvette Cooper: I am the ministerial design champion for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, as established under my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Better Public Buildings Initiative in 2000.

High Hedges

John Horam: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he expects antisocial behaviour legislation relating to high hedges to be implemented before Easter.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. Taylor) on 1 March 2005, Official Report, column 1127W.

Housing (Fylde)

Michael Jack: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consultations are being conducted between the management of the Northern Way and local authorities in Fylde on targets for future house building; and when they began.

Keith Hill: The regional spatial strategy for the North West is currently being reviewed by the North West Regional Assembly. Key elements of this review will be the appropriate level of housing provision in the region and links with the Northern Way.

Housing Stock

Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities in England have decided their stock options appraisal in favour of (a) stock transfer, (b) arm's length management organisation, (c) private finance initiative and (d) stock retention by the council; how many homes each authority has in each case; which authorities have yet to advise his Office of their intentions; and how many homes they own in each case.

Keith Hill: 58 local authorities have had whole stock Options Appraisals signed off by the relevant Government Office. The tables, made available in the Library of the House, show which options they have chosen.
	192 local authorities were subject to the requirement to have an Options Appraisal signed off by the relevant Government Office. Other authorities will have chosen an option prior to the introduction of this requirement.
	Some local authorities have opted for more than one solution for their stock and they are listed separately, with the options they have chosen, in the mixed model table available in the Library of the House. Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is never a whole stock solution, and so authorities who have chosen PFI are also found in this table.

Local Government

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the 20 least populous lower tier local authorities in England are, measured by population per hectare; what the average annual earnings per capita in each of those local authorities was in the last year for which figures are available; what the Band D council tax is in 2004–05 in each of those authorities; and what percentage of average annual earnings Band D council tax represents in each authority.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is tabled as follows. The table includes the 24 least populous lower tier local authorities under the definition used in the question so as to include all authorities with an average at the lower level threshold of 0.8 people per hectare.
	
		
			  Population per hectare(50) Mean gross annual earnings in 2004(51) Average Band D area council tax for 2004–05 Average Band D area council tax for 2004–05 as a percentage of mean gross annual earnings in 2004 
		
		
			 Eden 0.2 16,507 1,227 7.4 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed 0.3 12,329 1,254 10.2 
			 Tynedale 0.3 20,134 1,268 6.3 
			 Alnwick 0.3 17,285 1,259 7.3 
			 Teesdale 0.3 21,891 1,242 5.7 
			 Ryedale 0.3 17,919 1,215 6.8 
			 Richmondshire 0.4 20,782 1,219 5.9 
			 South Shropshire 0.4 17,517 1,264 7.2 
			 West Devon 0.4 n/a 1,255 n/a 
			 Craven 0.5 19,176 1,199 6.3 
			 West Somerset 0.5 20,115 1,177 5.9 
			 Torridge 0.6 16,964 1,203 7.1 
			 Hambleton 0.6 22,716 1,128 5.0 
			 South Lakeland 0.7 23,362 1,237 5.3 
			 North Cornwall 0.7 16,887 1,144 6.8 
			 Cotswold 0.7 23,166 1,206 5.2 
			 West Lindsey 0.7 18,445 1,152 6.2 
			 Allerdale 0.8 19,121 1,222 6.4 
			 East Lindsey 0.8 18,213 1,085 6.0 
			 Mid Devon 0.8 19,569 1,240 6.3 
			 Kennet 0.8 23,277 1,171 5.0 
			 Castle Morpeth 0.8 20,950 1,292 6.2 
			 Herefordshire 0.8 17,371 1,178 6.8 
			 North Devon 0.8 16,828 1,234 7.3 
		
	
	n/a=not available, because the earnings figure for West Devon is unreliable.
	(50)Population figures are ONS mid-year estimates for 2003.
	(51)Figures for all employee jobs where the person has been in post for at least a year, taken from the 2004 ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (including supplementary information). The figures are for residents of the area shown.

Local Government Finance

David Atkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those local authorities for whom the revenue budget settlement for 2005–06 has been based on 1991 Census data; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The main indicators used in the Formula Spending Share formulae are the population estimates. The population estimates from mid-2001 onwards have been based on the 2001 Census. They are then adjusted for births, deaths and both internal and external migration. The population estimates used in the Local Government Finance Settlements from 2003–04 onwards have been based on the 2001 Census.
	The formulae also use other socio-demographic indicators derived from the Census, for example population sparsity and population density. 1991 Census data is used for these other indicators in the 2005–06 Formula Spending Share formulae for Education, Personal Social Services, Police, Highway Maintenance and Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services. This Census data is not used in either the Fire or the Capital Financing Formula Spending Share formulae, and is therefore not used in the calculation of RSG for single service fire authorities only, i.e. LFEPA, metropolitan fire authorities and combined shire fire authorities.
	I announced on 21 July 2004 that we would not be amending the other socio-demographic indicators to incorporate 2001 Census data in the 2005–06 settlement (21 July 2004, Official Report, column 30WS). This is because it would have been technically incorrect to have simply introduced the data without first amending the statistical models underlying the Formula Spending Share formulae. Changing the formulae in this way would have broken the formula freeze that we have introduced to provide funding stability for authorities. Further research is being undertaken on the formula changes needed to incorporate the 2001 Census data into the Formula Spending Share formulae.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be consulting local authorities during the summer of 2005 on the formulae for the 2006–07 settlement.

London Safety Plan

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many responses to the public consultation that the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority has conducted on the Draft London Safety Plan (a) supported and (b) opposed the proposals; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: I understand the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority's 12 week consultation on the Draft London Safety Plan ended on Monday 7 February 2005. Responses from stakeholders are currently being analysed and will be reported to the Authority meeting on 17 March 2005, at which time the Authority will consider the final Plan in the light of theviews expressed.

Select Committee Report

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on progress with the implementation of the recommendations of the Ninth Report of session 2003–04 of the Committee on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The Government's response to the Committee's recommendations was set out in Cm 6321, presented to the House on 11 October. Copies are available in the Library of the House. The response said that the Committee's report would be a valuable input to the independent inquiry by Sir Michael Lyons into local government funding. The response also said that, in view of that inquiry, it would not be appropriate for the Government to take a final view on many of the Committee's conclusions and recommendations at that stage.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to promote better policy integration nationally, regionally and locally;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to work with Departments to help them meet their public service agreement floor targets for neighbourhood renewal and social inclusion;
	(3)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to reduce the persistent gap in growth rates between the English regions over the long-term;
	(4)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to improve the delivery and value for money of local services by introducing comprehensive performance assessments and action plans;
	(5)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to secure progressive improvements in local authorities' scores in performance assessments;
	(6)  whether the public service agreement target to secure overall annual improvements in the cost effectiveness of local services by 2 per cent. or more was met in 2004;
	(7)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to assist local government in achieving 100 per cent. capability in electronic delivery of priority services in ways that customers will use will be met by 2005;
	(8)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to achieve a better balance between housing availability and the demand for housing in all English regions while protecting valuable countryside around our towns, cities and in the green belt and the sustainability of existing towns and cities;
	(9)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target for all local planning authorities to have completed local development frameworks by 2006 will be met;
	(10)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target for all local planning authorities to perform at or above best value targets for development control by 2006 will be met;
	(11)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to bring all social housing into decent condition by 2010 will be met;
	(12)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to increase the proportion of private housing in decent condition occupied by vulnerable groups by 2010 will be met;
	(13)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to deliver better services;
	(14)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to promote high-quality, customer-focused services;
	(15)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to reduce the number of accidental fire-related deaths in the home by 20 per cent. by 2010 will be met;
	(16)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to reduce the numberof deliberate fires by 10 per cent. by 2010 will be met;
	(17)  what assessment he has made of his Department's success in meeting the public service agreement target to provide the opportunity by the end of this Parliament for a referendum on regional government in regions where there is a demand for it.

Yvette Cooper: Performance against all the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's public service agreement (PSA) targets are reported in our departmental reports. Since 2002, performance has also been reported in our autumn performance reports. For these PSA targets, set during the 2002 spending review, the most recent assessment of progress was published in the autumn performance report 2004 (Cm 6421, published December 2004). The next assessment will be given in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's annual report for 2004–05, due to be published in spring 2005.
	The SDA targets, revised in 2003, for accidental fire related deaths and deliberate fires were reported against in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's annual report 2004 and will next be reported against in the 2005 annual report. From April 2005, these SDA targets have been included in a new PSA target adopted under the 2004 spending review and will then be reported against in both the future autumn performance and annual reports.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to narrow the gap in health, education, crime, worklessness, housing and liveability outcomes between the most deprived areas and the rest of England by 2010;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to make sustainable improvements in the economic performance of all English regions by 2008;
	(3)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of local government in leading and delivering services to all communities by 2008, will be met;
	(4)  what recent assessment has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to ensure that the planning system delivers sustainable development outcomes at national, regional and local levels;
	(5)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to lead the delivery of cleaner, safer and greener public spaces.

Yvette Cooper: These public service agreement (PSA) targets, set during the 2004 spending review do not become live until April 2005. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister shall report progress against these targets in our autumn performance report for 2005, and then in subsequent annual and autumn performance reports.
	Work began last year preparing for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's new and revised PSA targets and technical notes, setting out how we were to measure progress against these targets. These have been published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: (http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_about/documents/divisionhomepage/ 031997.hcsp).
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also recently published its five-year plans, Sustainable Communities: People Places and Prosperity (Cm 6425) and Sustainable Communities: Homes for All (Cm6424), which set out how we will be tackling major challenges over the next five years.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to devolve decision making to the most effective level;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to clarify the roles and functions of local government and its relationship with central Government.

Nick Raynsford: These are both elements of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Strategic Priority 4 which is underpinned by PSA targets 1 and 4. The case for greater devolution both to and through councils is being taken forward in the work that we are undertaking on the development of a 10-year vision for local government, which picks up the recommendations of the report produced last year by HM Treasury and the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit on devolving decision making. We have published a number of discussion papers, including proposals for piloting local area agreements, and we intend to publish a further document on the development of a new performance framework shortly.

Water Mills

Joan Walley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in what circumstances planning permission may be given for water mills to provide renewable energy where they are located in green belt areas.

Keith Hill: Planning Policy Guidance note 2: Green Belts" (PPG2) sets out the Government's policies on development in the green belt. Most forms of development are regarded as inappropriate development in the green belt (and by definition harmful). It would be for an applicant to show that very special circumstances existed which clearly outweighed the harm that inappropriate development would cause. PPG2 sets out the forms of development that would be not inappropriate in the green belt. Water mills are not among these.
	Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy" advises that very special circumstances which might outweigh the harm caused by inappropriate development in the green belt could (and it will depend on the facts of the case) include the wider environmental benefits associated with increased production of energy from renewable sources.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Housing

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made with investigations established to examine the actions of the Accounting Officer of the Housing Executive in relation to the absence of proper contract procedures.

John Spellar: There have not been any investigations, nor are any planned, in relation to the absence of propercontract procedures within the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
	The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts Report Housing the Homeless" (Twenty first Report of Session 2003/04) referred to a specific contract concerning the removal and storage of furniture for the homeless households. The Housing Executive fully acknowledged the shortcomings in the procurement of the particular contract and has fundamentally changedits contract policy and procedures to reflect Government's Constructing Excellence programme.

Invest Northern Ireland

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total investment by Invest Northern Ireland in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency was in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: The following table provides information relating to offers made to clients by parliamentary constituency area during the five years up to end March 2004. Included is the total amount of planned investment to which these offers contributed. Invest NI's information is provided for the years 2002–03 and 2003–04. Information prior to 2002–03 is based on funding provided by two of Invest NI's legacy agencies—the Industrial Development Board and the Local Enterprise Development Unit.
	
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 
			 Parliamentary constituency Number of offers Assistance (£) Investment(52) (£) Number of offers Assistance (£) Investment(52) (£) 
		
		
			 Belfast East 97 15,849,537 91,916,715 49 1,607,142 5,587,276 
			 Belfast North 111 4,372,363 13,098,466 47 11,735,957 25,691,738 
			 Belfast South 180 23,151,235 81,459,645 93 8,492,267 32,968,940 
			 Belfast West 61 7,155,105 21,276,136 41 3,021,986 11,947,752 
			 East Antrim 86 4,872,375 37,709,491 41 21,309,617 168,909,759 
			 East Londonderry 120 10,226,718 62,696,675 64 8,242,683 37,925,715 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 171 10,457,547 46,837,774 87 3,065,387 22,995,241 
			 Foyle 229 7,748,567 28,755,865 88 11,344,169 35,429,187 
			 Lagan Valley 156 1,650,378 8,471,809 69 1,506,181 10,573,848 
			 Mid Ulster 269 2,364,510 12,100,912 144 3,274,312 18,874,843 
			 Newry and Armagh 171 2,019,032 11,641,076 91 4,348,743 15,427,292 
			 North Antrim 172 1,641,886 9,953,677 78 2,689,389 16,831,426 
			 North Down 91 3,376,556 14,995,659 56 778,026 4,101,844 
			 South Antrim 132 5,226,745 33,726,003 79 4,650,258 51,409,794 
			 South Down 146 1,728,083 10,014,158 62 1,228,539 5,951,029 
			 Strangford 113 2,225,269 11,308,744 63 2,956,846 10,707,120 
			 Upper Bann 159 4,224,261 30,813,380 85 2,159,066 9,723,463 
			 West Tyrone 107 1,160,461 3,850,897 73 1,798,859 6,833,958 
			 Yet to be determined(53) 2 19,000 20,000 0 0 0 
			 Grand total 2,573 109,469,628 530,647,082 1,310 94,209,427 491,890,225 
		
	
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 
			 Parliamentary constituency Number of offers Assistance (£) Investment(52) (£) Number of offers Assistance (£) Investment(52) (£) 
		
		
			 Belfast East 46 5,760,102 29,021,415 58 2,103,025 8,512,108 
			 Belfast North 58 5,670,981 14,380,030 45 7,565,191 20,071,672 
			 Belfast South 78 5,780,647 33,336,606 137 15,943,868 38,581,673 
			 Belfast West 29 4,978,855 26,254,575 47 4,154,127 16,518,873 
			 East Antrim 46 1,633,322 11,499,761 66 6,249,254 21,210,100 
			 East Londonderry 44 2,006,291 6,984,996 59 4,168,042 13,950,428 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 70 4,660,406 28,325,773 69 5,720,677 22,971,162 
			 Foyle 69 5,230,250 20,922,057 94 14,414,920 105,655,505 
			 Lagan Valley 64 1,385,337 7,418,796 54 1,462,738 6,682,614 
			 Mid Ulster 111 3,596,184 18,695,873 143 4,056,819 20,082,706 
			 Newry and Armagh 98 2,460,108 14,561,864 84 6,258,098 22,320,265 
			 North Antrim 68 2,261,799 12,919,845 72 2,387,964 14,215,617 
			 North Down 43 960,839 4,989,873 44 1,347,025 6,467,355 
			 South Antrim 72 7,033,902 76,712,254 86 22,877,977 142,862,810 
			 South Down 63 5,417,186 20,525,114 70 2,439,960 12,649,429 
			 Strangford 46 2,277,552 10,315,133 62 2,148,990 9,258,178 
			 Upper Bann 67 5,061,360 26,992,790 78 16,626,275 73,276,818 
			 West Tyrone 52 4,348,708 31,648,319 52 4,786,843 20,172,661 
			 Yet to be determined(53) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Grand total 1,124 70,523,829 395,505,074 1,320 124,711,793 575,459,974 
		
	
	(52)Investment totals include assistance offered.
	(53)'Yet to be determined' relates to offers made to businesses which have not as yet determined a precise location.
	Note:
	An additional £21,211,335 was offered in 2002–03 that could not be allocated by area.
	Figures for 2003–04 remain provisional until the publication of the Invest NI Annual Report 2003–04.

Invest Northern Ireland

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total Northern Ireland Tourist Board investment in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency was in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: Information requested in relation to funding provided by Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) is provided in the following table:
	
		£
		
			 Constituency 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total 
		
		
			 Across all constituencies and cross-border(54) 76,143 54,740 34,842 101,934 101,558 369,216 
			 Belfast East 2,200 2,000 10,500 17,500 20,000 52,200 
			 Belfast North 232,515 15,529 5,000 4,000 1,000 258,044 
			 Belfast South 1,335,651 1,941,769 16,686 13,801 0 3,307,907 
			 Belfast West 20,000 741,500 20,000 20,000 0 801,500 
			 East Antrim 74,613 1,004,280 132,330 400 500 1,212,123 
			 East Londonderry 680,564 424,041 394,880 10,189 30,014 1,539,688 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 513,891 1,529,299 216,671 9,977 41,858 2,311,695 
			 Foyle 671,388 516,529 2,606,564 76,113 11,655 3,882,249 
			 Lagan Valley 73,716 23,837 27,788 3,800 2,022 131,163 
			 Mid Ulster 37,786 230,574 119,655 118,765 20,790 527,571 
			 Newry and Armagh 387,311 1,442,727 1,749,394 57,275 23,991 3,660,697 
			 North Antrim 952,746 1,060,944 119,013 68,066 36,120 2,236,889 
			 North Down 43,939 12,527 10,700 28,700 8,000 103,866 
			 South Antrim 52,856 93,735 98,842 8,000 0 253,433 
			 South Down 2,335,992 821,966 286,707 18,490 10,552 3,473,707 
			 Strangford 69,390 248,675 5,000 46,737 57,376 427,177 
			 Upper Bann 2,059 46,136 13,806 500 0 62,501 
			 West Tyrone 356,287 235,418 4,369 4,369 0 600,443 
			 Total 7,919,045 10,446,226 5,872,748 608,614 365,435 25,212,068 
		
	
	(54)This relates to projects which bridges more than one parliamentary constituency.
	An additional £8,621,404 was provided during the period 2000–04 but could not be allocated by parliamentary constituency.
	Financial assistance to accommodation projects was funded by the NITB up until March 2002. Since April 2002 this assistance has been administered through Invest NI.

Neighbourhood Renewal Programme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) applications and (b) expressions of interest have been received by the Belfast Regeneration Office in relation to the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme; how many of these applications or expressions of interest have been received from (i) North Belfast, (ii) South Belfast, (iii) East Belfast and (iv) West Belfast; which groups have applied for funding; how much funding has been applied for in each case; and what the total budget available for each is.

John Spellar: The following table gives details of the number of applications/expressions of interest, received by Belfast Regeneration Office, made under Neighbourhood Renewal Phase I & II. A more detailed table giving details of each individual group who has applied, in each of the areas, has been placed in the Library. It should also be noted that the total budget available for each of the constituencies is still under consideration.
	
		
			 Area Number of Applications received under Phase I of NR Total amount applied (£) Number of Applications/ Expressions of Interest received under Phase II of NR Total amount applied (£) 
		
		
			 North 6 81,066.26 69 10,228,292.05 
			 South 2 29,340.17 27 6,324,318.08 
			 East 10 208,148.55 39 4,872,585.25 
			 West 24 756,372.02 168 19,210,113.39

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Iraq

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Solicitor-General whether she has read the legal opinion on the case for war in Iraq.

Harriet Harman: As the Prime Minister explained in a written reply on 9 March 2004, Official Report, column 1433W to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) it is established practice not to disclose details of the circulation of papers to Ministers.

Iraq

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Solicitor-General whether the Attorney-General provided written advice that the invasion of Iraq could be illegal.

Harriet Harman: The advice given by the Attorney-General on the legality of the use of force against Iraq is described in paragraphs 378–386 of the Report of the Butler Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Attorney-General set out his view that the use of force would be lawful in a written answer in Parliament on 17 March 2003.

HEALTH

Agency Nurses (Sussex)

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust paid for agency nurses in each year since 2002.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect separate expenditure information on agency nurses.
	The table shows expenditure by the Brighton and Sussex University hospitals national health service trust on non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff for 2002–03 and 2003–04 (the latest year for which data is available).
	
		
			  Expenditure (£) 
		
		
			 2002–03 8,086,450 
			 2003–04 6,236,799 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual financial returns of the Brighton and Sussex University hospitals NHS trust.

Ambulance Service

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the proposed restructuring of its ambulance service by Westcountry Ambulance Trust.

Rosie Winterton: I am aware that the Westcountry Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust is currently considering ways to improve and modernise the service it provides. The Department has not made any assessment of the proposed restructuring. In line with our policy of Shifting the Balance of Power, the responsibility for the provision of ambulance services rests with local ambulance trusts and it is for local trusts to ensure that these services meet the needs of their local communities.

Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his statement of 30 November 2004, Official Report, column 528, on the fall in the premature death rate from cancer since 1997, if he will list the figures from which this statement was derived for each year since 1985.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 21 February 2005
	Cancer mortality rates in England for people aged under 75 are shown in the table. The figures are averaged over three-year periods and indicate the number of deaths from cancer each year for every 100,000 of the population aged under 75.
	The 12.2 per cent. reduction in cancer mortality rates was arrived at by calculating the difference between the 1995–97 baseline figure and the latest available figures (2001–03). This figure is then divided into the baseline figure, thus showing the percentage reduction.
	
		
			 Data period Three-year average data 
		
		
			 1984–86 160.95 
			 1985–87 159.42 
			 1986–88 158.85 
			 1987–89 158.37 
			 1988–90 157.29 
			 1989–91 155.53 
			 1990–92 153.78 
			 1991–93 151.32 
			 1992–94 148.35 
			 1993–95 146.80 
			 1994–96 144.36 
			 1995–97 141.24 
			 1996–98 138.51 
			 1997–99 134.97 
			 1998–2000 132.12 
			 1999–2001 128.83 
			 2000–02 126.55 
			 2001–03 124.06 
		
	
	Note:
	Data from 1993 onwards are not directly comparable with data from 1992 and earlier years due to changes in coding.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics mortality data.

Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policies his Department has in place for supporting employees with cancer.

Rosie Winterton: All employees of the Department who are ill, including any staff with cancer, are supported through the Department's occupational health and rehabilitation policies. These policies can include counselling, re-arranging work, introducing flexible or home working or transfer to a different post.

Cardiac Care (Essex)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained medical (a) doctors and (b) nurses specialising in cardiac care there are in Romford and Havering hospitals.

Stephen Ladyman: Data is collectively held on medical staff within the cardiology speciality at Barking, Havering and Redbridge hospitals national health service trust, which operates in Romford and Havering. This data is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS):medical staff within the cardiology specialty in Barking, Havering and Redbridge hospitals NHS trust
		
			 As at 30 September 2003 Numbers (headcount) 
		
		
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge RF4 Hospitals  NHS trust 5 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

Children's Hospices

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much NHS funding has been allocated to children's hospices in each year since 1997; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of the total children's hospice funding that represented in each year;
	(2)  many children's hospices there are in England; and how many of them receive (a) funding and (b) the majority of their funding through the NHS;
	(3)  how many children's hospices receive less than 10 per cent. of their core funding from the NHS.

Stephen Ladyman: There are currently 35 children's hospices registered with the Healthcare Commission in England. The Department does not collect information on hospice funding. I supplied my hon. Friend with the most up-to-date estimate we have of the proportion of total children's hospice funding that came from the national health service in my reply to him of 16 September 2004, Official Report, column 1760W.
	Children's hospice services are funded from a number of sources, including services commissioned by primary care trusts on the basis of their assessment of children's needs and their priorities. There is no upper limit to the amount of funding which the NHS can provide.
	In our ongoing dialogue with representatives of children's hospices, the Department continues to encourage them to engage actively with local NHS bodies over the contribution that hospices can make to the overall pattern of palliative care they commission for children and young people in their localities.

Cleaning Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the costs of cleaning the Department were in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The cost of the Department's cleaning contract in each year from 1997 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Cost £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 941,243.60 
			 1998–99 751,185.20 
			 1999–2000 871,286.10 
			 2000–01 924,290.60 
			 2001–02 873,940.70 
			 2002–03 923,718.00 
			 2003–04 883,721.70 
			 2004–05 734,586.10

Complementary and Alternative Health Care

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on general practitioners prescribing complementary and alternative medicine and treatments.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 4 March 2005
	National health service access to complementary and alternative medicine is a matter for local clinical judgement, based on the available evidence. It is, therefore, a matter for the general practitioner to decide if a specific treatment should be made available to a patient.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pieces of guidance his Department has issued to primary care trusts (PCTs) in the last year regarding targets that need to be met for signing up dentists to the personal dental services contract; what action he will take against those PCTs who fail to meet the 25 per cent. target; and what discussions his Department has had with PCT chief executives about this target.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 25 February 2005
	By this April, we anticipate that, across England as a whole, 25 per cent. of dental practices will have moved to the personal dental service (PDS). We have not set any targets for primary care trusts, but have been very encouraged by the numbers of dentists who, at their own volition, have sought to move to the PDS scheme in order to gain advanced benefit of the new contractual arrangements which we are to introduce to national health service dentistry by April 2006.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has conducted into (a) the NHS-private mix and (b) the age of dentists moving over to the personal dental service contract.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 25 February 2005
	Data are not collected on the split between national health service and private patients.
	The number and age ranges of dentists with open personal dental service (PDS) contracts as at 31 December 2004 is shown in the table.
	
		Personal dental service (PDS) by age as at 31 December 2004
		
			 Age Dentists 
		
		
			 <25 53 
			 25–29 537 
			 30–34 566 
			 35–39 560 
			 40–44 570 
			 45–49 523 
			 50–54 388 
			 55–59 212 
			 60+ 139 
			 All PDS dentists 3,548

Dentistry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices are accepting new (a) children, (b) pensioner and (c) adult NHS patients, broken down by primary care trust.

Rosie Winterton: Summary figures for dental practice in England, which were extracted from the nhs.uk website on 10 February 2005, are shown in the table. Figures at primary care trust level have been placed in the Library. Information is not available for practices accepting pensioners, but most adults exempt from charges are exempt on the grounds of low income.
	
		
			 Groupings Total 
		
		
			 Registering children aged 0–18 for national health  service treatment 3,699 
			 Registering charge-exempt adults for NHS treatment 2,758 
			 Registering charge-paying adults for NHS treatment 2,412 
		
	
	Some practices are registering more than one category of patient.

Departmental Policies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Coventry, South constituency, the effects on the constituency of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Coventry, South constituency. For example:
	At the end of December 2004, the number of people waiting more than nine months for inpatient treatment within the Coventry primary care trust (PCT) has fallen to 0, from 437 in June 2002.
	At the end of December 2004, the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for outpatient treatment within Coventry PCT has fallen to 134, from 3,441 in June 2002.
	In June 2003, at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, 86.3 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in Accident and Emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Figures for September 2004 show an improvement to 97.4 per cent.
	Between September 1997 and June 2004, the number of consultants at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust has increased from 126 to 228. Between September 1997 and September 2003 the number of nurses has increased from 1,538 to 2,087.
	Between September 2001 and June 2004, the number of general medical practitioners within Coventry PCT has increased from 185 to 198.
	Figures for December 2004 show that all patients within Coventry PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a general practitioner within two working days and a primary care professional within one working day.
	Work has started on a £379 million private finance initiative scheme at Walsgrave Hospital. Some parts of the new hospital are open already. The scheme is due to be completed in 2006.
	A £40 million Local Improvement Finance Trust project, including a number of primary care centres across Coventry, has been approved. There is also a new walk-in centre in Coventry.

Departmental Policies

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon, Central constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on the Croydon Central constituency.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government have put in place a programme for national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded benefits for the Croydon, Central constituency. For example:
	At the end of December 2004, the number of people waiting more than nine months for In-patient treatment within Croydon Primary Care Trust (PCT) fell to one, from 733 in June 2002.
	At the end of September 2004, the number of patients, waiting over 13 weeks for out-patient treatment within Croydon PCT has fallen to 566, from 1,420 in June 2002.
	Figures for June 2002 show that 67.5 per cent. of patients within Croydon PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a primary care professional within two working days, in December 2004 the figure was 100 per cent.
	In June 2003, at Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 82.8 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer, or discharge. Figures for September 2004 show an improvement to 94.7 per cent.
	In the Croydon local authority area, death rates from cancer per 100,000 population have fallen to 164.6 in 2003, from 196.5 in 1997.
	In the Croydon local authority area, death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population have fallen to 104.5 in 2003, from 120.5 in 1997.
	Between September 1997 and June 2004, the number of consultants at Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust has increased from 79 to 110.
	In September 2001, figures show 180 general practitioners within Croydon PCT. Figures for June 2004 show an increase to 225.
	In September 2002, figures show 153 dentists within Croydon PCT. Figures for September 2004 show an increase to 161.
	For 2004–05, Croydon PCT received an allocation of £324 million an increase in cash terms of 9.8 per cent.
	At Mayday Hospital the £22 million Jubilee Ward opened in December 2004. It houses 306 new beds and a day care facility with four full size operating theatres and 18 recovery beds.

Digital Hearing Aids (Gloucester)

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been allocated to help improve the delivery time for digital hearing aids in Gloucester.

Rosie Winterton: In 2004–05, Gloucester Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust has received £472,000 through the modernising hearing aid services programme to sustain its modernised hearing aid service, and to implement capacity initiatives such as public private partnership schemes.
	This funding is in addition to the historical audiology funding which is locally determined.

Disabled Facilities Grant

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what input he has had to the review of the disabled facilities grant;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the health benefits of accessible housing for (a) children with disabilities, (b) adults with disabilities and (c) family carers of disabled people;
	(3)  what financial allocation his Department makes to vital housing adaptations for disabled adults and children; and how much has been allocated in the past three years.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department of Health is working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Department for Education and Skills as one of the three Government Departments undertaking the review of the disabled facilities grant. The ODPM is the lead Department in the review.
	The Department of Health has not made any specific assessment of the benefits of accessible housing. However, we have commissioned a piece of work on the outcomes and costs of community based care for people with learning disability and mental health problems, which includes accommodation issues.
	The Department of Health makes no direct financial allocations for housing adaptations. Primary care trusts and social service departments make funding decisions regarding minor adaptations to peoples' homes and equipment services. Since 9 June 2003, all community equipment loaned or given to people is free of charge, as are adaptations costing under £1,000 (minor adaptations) provided by councils. This change was brought about by regulations associated with the Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act 2003.
	Housing authorities are allocated funding by the ODPM for disabled facilities grants in order to fund adaptations to individuals' houses.

Distalgesic and Co-proxamol Prescriptions

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1) what advice is given to general practitioners who are unwilling or discouraged from re-issuing prescriptions for distalgesic and Co-proxamol;
	(2)  what advice his Department gives with regard to the prescription of distalgesic and Co-proxamol.

Rosie Winterton: The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) having considered all the available evidence, including the results of a public request for information, has advised that co-proxamol should be withdrawn from the market on the grounds that the benefits of co-proxamol are not considered to outweigh the risks. The Licensing Authority has accepted this advice and a public announcement on the decision to withdraw co-proxamol was made on Monday 31 January. The Marketing Authorisation holders have agreed to withdraw co-proxamol over an extended period of time in order to allow long term users an opportunity to adopt suitable alternative pain management strategies.
	There are a number of alternatives to co-proxamol for managing pain and the CSM has issued advice on pain management options to assist prescribers together with their individual patients, in choosing appropriate pain management strategies. This guidance also refers to a number of sources of additional advice including the British National Formulary, which is sent to all doctors and pharmacists.
	The CSM's overview of alternative analgesic options was communicated though the Chief Medical Officer's public health link to all health care professionals, accompanying the communication on the withdrawal of co-proxamol and is available on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's website (www.mhra.gov.uk). Copies have been placed in the Library.

East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-clinical staff are employed by the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust.

Rosie Winterton: The most recent figures for the number of non-clinical staff employed by the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT) is shown in the table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: All specified medical and non-medical staff by main staff group in East Elmbridge and Mid-Surrey PCT as at 30 September 2003
		
			  Headcount 
		
		
			 5KP total 1,593 
			   
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff total 743 
			   
			 All general medical practitioners(55) 188 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 388 
			 Of which:  
			 Practice nurses 73 
			   
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical (STT)staff 167 
			 Of which:  
			 Qualified allied health professionals (AHPs) 121 
			 Other qualified STT staff 46 
			 Support to clinical staff total 291 
			 Support to doctors and nurses 220 
			 Support to STT staff 71 
			 Of which:  
			 Support to AHPs 28 
			 Support to other STT staff 43 
			   
			 NHS infrastructure support total 505 
			 Practice staff (excluding practice nurses(56)) 414 
			 Central functions 21 
			 Managers and senior managers 70 
			   
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification 54 
		
	
	(55)All practitioners include GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted general practitioners, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, GP registrars, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, GP retainers, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	(56)Practice staff (excluding practice nurses) includes direct patient care, administrative and clerical and other.
	Sources:
	Department of Health non-medical workforce census.
	Department of Health general (QMS) and personal (PMS) medical services statistics.

East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the total budget of the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust was spent on administration in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: The percentage of total operating expenditure spent on administration by the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT) is shown in the table. The PCT was established on 1 April 2002. Therefore, figures are only available for two years.
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2002–03 2.8 
			 2003–04 1.7 
		
	
	Source:
	Audited summarisation schedules of the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT: 2002–03 and 2003–04.

East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust owes to the NHS Bank.

Rosie Winterton: To assist in financial recovery, Surrey and Sussex strategic health authority (SHA) has received £90 million from the NHS Bank over the past three years. The SHA advises that East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust has not received any of the £90 million.

Epilepsy

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist epilepsy nurses have been working in the NHS in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

FSA Eat Well Campaign

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on the Food Standards Agency Eat Well campaign; and how much of this money was spent on each aspect of expenditure on the campaign.

Melanie Johnson: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that a total of £64,999 has been spent on the FSA's campaign to promote the eatwell" website (February 2005), www.eatwell.gov.uk, to a total targeted audience of 2.5 million people. This total splits as follows:
	Design work and print: £23,646
	Inserts in four targeted women's magazines (Woman, Woman's Own, Now and Hello whose readers demonstrate medium/high internet usage): £40,531
	Mailings to health promotion units, dieticians and nutritionists and colleges: £822.

GP Service (Southend)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have registered with general practitioners in Southend in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not collect information on the numbers of people newly registered with general practitioners. Information is collected only on the total number of patients registered. This is shown in the table.
	
		Patients of unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs)(57) for specified organisations; 1997–2003 -- numbers (headcount)
		
			   of which: 
			  Essex Southend-on-Sea Primary Care Trust Southend-on-Sea Primary Care Group 
		
		
			  Q03 5AK 4KH89 
			 1997 1,603,543 n/a n/a 
			 1998 1,618,117 n/a n/a 
			 1999 1,640,784 n/a 173,529 
			 2000 1,648,879 n/a 174,881 
			 2001 1,641,100 174,263 n/a 
			 2002 1,646,695 173,457 n/a 
			 2003 1,690,519 177,522 n/a 
		
	
	(57)UPEs include general medical service (QMS) unrestricted principals, personal medical service (PMS) contracted GPs and PMS salaried GPs.
	Note:
	2003 Patient data has been revised from previously published figures.
	Data as at 1 October 1997–99 and 30 September 2000–03.
	n/a=not applicable.
	Source:
	Department of Health QMS and PMS statistics.

Meat Imports

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what procedures the Food Standards Agency has in place to ensure that meat imported into the UK from EU countries is fit for human consumption;
	(2)  what representations the Food Standards Agency has received in the last three years concerning imports from or via the EU, with particular reference to the standards of hygiene and inspection in operation in abattoirs.

Melanie Johnson: European Union (EU) Hygiene Directives regulate intra-community trade in meat and meat products and these apply uniformly across the EU. Directive 89/662 places the onus on the originating member state to ensure that meat for intra-community trade is compliant with EU legislation and fit for human consumption. The receiving member state may only carry out non-discriminatory spot checks. To that end, meat received into the United Kingdom from other member states is subject to the same inspection requirements as domestically produced meat, although there are additional checks in licensed meat plants for the presence of specified risk material in imported beef and sheep meat.
	The Food Standards Agency has received a number of representations seeking reassurance that meat sent to the UK from other member states and from third countries complies with legislative and food safety requirements.

Mr. Alan Milburn

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what inquiries he has made into payments made to the right hon. Member for Darlington by companies involved in major commercial deals with the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 March 2005
	None. Any arrangements between my right hon. Friend and commercial companies are subject to the ministerial code and to the requirement on all hon. Members to make appropriate declarations in the Register of Members' Interests.

Mr. W. A. Wood

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the position of Mr.W. A. Wood of Solihull on the waiting list for hearing appliances with Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull Hospital Hearing Department.

Stephen Ladyman: Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull National Health Service Trust has advised Mr. Wood of his appointment.

NICE Appraisal

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued on the use by NHS trusts of treatments within a class of treatments during the period of the appraisal of that class of treatments by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence; and what steps are taken to ensure that guidance is followed.

Rosie Winterton: Health Service Circular 1999/176, issued in August 1999, indicates that national health service bodies should continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is not available at the time the technology first becomes available. These arrangements should involve an assessment of the available evidence on clinical effectiveness.
	Following the Department's Shifting the Balance of Power" initiative, responsibility for local health services lies with the local NHS. It is now for primary care trusts, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to plan, develop and improve services for local people in accordance with national standards that include following NICE guidance.

Paddington Health Campus

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to address the shortcomings in the management of the Paddington Health Campus Project identified in the National Audit Office, Treasury and Department of Health Review of September 2004.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 March 2005
	Since the publication of the review, revised project management governance structures have been set up to strengthen the management and oversight of the project team, and ensure there is proper accountability to the strategic health authority and the Department. The governance of the project, and the strength and skill set of the project team is kept under constant review.

Paddington Health Campus

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the land arrangement set out in the December 2004 outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus was rejected by his Department.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 March 2005
	The Department did not reject the land proposal set out in the December 2004 outline business case (OBC). As part of the process of testing the robustness of the OBC, the Department questioned the overall value for money of the land transaction. This challenge resulted in a counter proposal being put forward, which involved Westminster city council undertaking land swaps with the private sector property developer, Paddington Development Corporation Ltd. This counter offer is currently being evaluated by the Paddington Health Campus project team. The result of this evaluation is scheduled to be with the Department by the middle of March.

Paddington Health Campus

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it remains the intention that the Paddington Health Campus will have 1,088 in-patient NHS beds.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 March 2005
	The outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus submitted to the Department in December 2004 included provision for 923 in-patient beds. This is made up of 835 national health service in-patient beds and 88 private beds. This figure compares with an earlier estimate of 1,088 in-patient beds made in 2003. In the intervening time, the Paddington Health Campus has been subjected to a major review of the clinical needs. This review had a major focus on activity that could be redistributed into the community in line with recent NHS policy. It is a reflection on the success of that review, and the commitment of local primary care trusts to take on the activity, that bed numbers have reduced.

Paddington Health Campus

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the outturn costs of the Paddington Health Campus Project set out in the outline business case of December 2004.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 March 2005
	The outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus project is currently being evaluated by the Department. This evaluation includes a robust testing of the accuracy and affordability of the costings underpinning the business case.

Prostate Cancer Treatment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase expenditure on treatment of prostate cancer.

Melanie Johnson: Funding for cancer services is included in primary care trust (PCT) baselines. It is for PCTs, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities. Their decisions need to be based on the specialised knowledge they have of the local community, this includes the need for treatment of prostate cancer in their area. 80 per cent., of funding is devolved to PCT level.
	There are a number of initiatives under way to improve treatment of prostate cancers as set out in Making Progress on Prostate Cancer", published in November 2004. PCTs will need to take any funding implications of these initiatives into account. Copies of Making Progress on Prostate Cancer" are available in the Library.

Prostate Cancer Treatment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long the waiting time is for treatment for prostate cancer at the Leicester General Hospital; and what the equivalent time was in 2004.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Data is not available centrally on waiting times for all cancer patients. A two week out-patient waiting time standard from urgent general practitioner referral with suspected cancer to first out-patient appointment with a specialist was introduced in 2000.
	At the University Hospitals of Leicester national health service trust in the last quarter, quarter 2 of 2004–05, 100 per cent. of urgent referrals for suspected urological cancers, including prostate cancer, were seen within two weeks of urgent referral by their GP. The same performance was achieved for quarter 2 of 2003–04.
	The NHS cancer plan sets out our strategy to reduce waiting times for cancer patients. From 2005, all cancer patients will wait a maximum of one month from diagnosis to treatment and two months from urgent referral for suspected cancer to treatment except for a good clinical reason or through patient choice. Data on achievement of NHS cancer plan waiting times targets are published for strategic health authorities and trusts on the Department's website at http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/cancerwaits/.

Publicity

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure by his Department on (a) advertising and (b) advertising and publicity was in (i) 1996–97, (ii) 1997–98 and (iii) 2003–04; and what the estimated cost of each will be in (A) 2004–05, (B)2005–06, (C) 2006–07 and (D) 2007–08.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the expenditure on major information campaigns and advertising commissioned by the Department's communications directorate for the financial years 1995–96 to 2004–05 (estimated). The figures include the costs of campaign-related publishing, television, radio, poster, newspaper and magazine advertising.
	There have been a number of new campaigns since 1999–2000. These include:
	Tobacco control—1999–2000
	Flu immunisation—2000–01
	Social care/worker recruitment—2001–02
	Sexual health—2002–03 to date.
	The tobacco control campaign was launched in December 1999. Expenditure has increased from £15.5 million (total campaign) in 1999–2000 to £27.5 million (estimated) in 2004–05 as shown in the table.
	
		£ million
		
			 Financial year Total campaign expenditure (all campaigns) Tobacco control campaign Advertising expenditure (all campaigns) Tobacco control campaign 
		
		
			 1996–97 15.13 — 2.50 — 
			 1997–98 6.63 — 2.04 — 
			 1998–99 22.96 — 8.53 — 
			 1999–2000 35.97 15.5 15.17 6.18 
			 2000–01 25.32 13.73 20.80 8.97 
			 2001–02 37.23 12.3 20.41 7.79 
			 2002–03 34.85 11.56 23.13 7.87 
			 2003–04 52.35 23.83 38.98 17.76 
			 2004–05 (estimated) 49.40 27.5 37.48 25.00 
		
	
	Future expenditure has not been decided yet.

Treatment Abroad (NHS Funding)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients living in the London borough of Wandsworth have had operations or other medical treatments funded by the NHS in European countries in each of the last three years.

Stephen Ladyman: Under the London patient choice overseas treatment direct referral scheme, no such patients have been referred by the national health service for treatment overseas in the last three years. Treatments in other countries of the European Economic Area for United Kingdom residents may also be publicly funded through the co-ordination arrangements in Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 eg via the E111 scheme for temporary visitors and the E112 referral arrangements. Data on these patients' UK area of residence are not separately recorded centrally.

Waiting Times (Mental Illness)

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the median waiting time is for a patient with a mental health illness to receive an initial out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by a general practitioner.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the median waiting times for an outpatient appointment with a mental illness consultant is shown in the table.
	
		Out-patient provider and commissioner waits for mental health specialities—June 2004 to December 2004: provider only
		
			  Waited (seen)  Middle Median 
			  Quarter Month  of list (weeks) 
		
		
			 2004–05 1 June Provider 14,972 2.95 
			 2004–05 2 September Provider 14,441 2.87 
			 2004–05 3 December Provider 14,736 2.71 
			 2004–05 1 June Commissioner 9,476 2.88 
			 2004–05 2 September Commissioner 9,591 2.75 
		
	
	Aggregated specialties:
	710—Mental illness
	711—Child and adolescent psychiatry
	712—Forensic psychiatry
	713—Psychotherapy
	715—Old age psychiatry

Waiting Times (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for surgery for patients in Rochdale was in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Inpatient waiting list and time bands figures for the following trusts: fourth quarter ending March of each year
		
			   Month end   Unit name Estimated median waiting time (months) 
		
		
			 1997 Oldham NHS trust 4.30 
			 1997 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 4.08 
			 1997 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 4.08 
			 1997 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 3.25 
			 2004 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 2.78 
			 December 2004(58) Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 1.93 
		
	
	(58)Please note changes in the time bands for this quarter.
	Source:
	Department of Health KH07.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Asylum and Immigration

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what measures he is taking against legal advisers facilitating unfounded claims for (a) asylum and (b) applications for work permits.

David Lammy: The Government take this matter very seriously. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) and the Law Society, which regulate immigration advisers, have a duty to ensure that advisers act properly.
	Since they became fully operational in May 2001, the OISC has successfully prosecuted 30 illegal advisers, refused registration applications from 126 would-be advisers and withdrawn regulation from a further 20.
	The Law Society has put in place a raft of measures to ensure that immigration advisers are acting properly, ranging from investigations to referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Child Support

David Kidney: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in assisting Jane Green, the constituent of the hon. Member for Stafford, in securing the payment of child support for her daughter from the father in Tobago.

David Lammy: The United Kingdom is a signatory to several international conventions for the cross-border recovery of maintenance, including the recognition and enforcement of existing maintenance decisions made by courts in the UK. Trinidad and Tobago is not a signatory to any of these conventions.
	The UK's arrangement with Trinidad and Tobago in this field is based on what is often referred to as the Commonwealth scheme", which dates back to 1920 and effectively operates on the basis that the judicial systems of Commonwealth countries are—in general—sufficiently similar to allow maintenance orders made in the courts of one jurisdiction to be registered and enforced in the courts of another jurisdiction. Since there is no treaty regulating these arrangements, however, there is no formal mechanism by which the authorities of the initiating jurisdiction can put pressure on the authorities of the receiving jurisdiction if things go wrong or if a lengthy delay occurs.
	This particular application was to register and enforce an English maintenance order in Trinidad and Tobago, and the application was first made in February 2002. The Trinidad and Tobago authorities acknowledged the application in October 2002, and the Department has forwarded correspondence and sent follow-up letters and email reminders to the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago at approximately two-month intervals ever since.
	The Trinidad and Tobago authorities have responded at various times with hearing dates that were subsequently adjourned, and—in June 2003—with news that the respondent had lodged an appeal against the English order being registered and enforced in Trinidad and Tobago. The last information received from the Trinidad and Tobago authorities was that a date was awaited for the matter to come before the Court of Appeal.
	The Office of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago is aware of our concern at the significant delays that have occurred in this case, but my Department is unable to intervene in the affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, nor to insist on a timeframe in which this matter should be resolved.
	Officials in my Department do continue, however, to seek clarification from the Trinidad and Tobago authorities of the present state of the matter, and in particular the grounds of the respondent's appeal and whether a date has been set for the appeal hearing.
	More generally, efforts are under way internationally to improve the system of dealing with cross-border maintenance claims. The UK is taking an active part in this work, and we would hope that as many countries as possible are able to join in the new treaty arrangements in this area, once they are established.
	In the meantime, I shall be happy to write to the hon. Member with further details of my Department's efforts on behalf of his constituent.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Exports (EU Code of Conduct)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 171WS, on EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, what legal remedy through (a) national courts and (b) the European Court of Justice exists if an EU member state breaches the Code of Conduct.

Jack Straw: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The domestic consequences of a member state breaching its obligations under the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports will depend upon its national laws. For the UK, I refer the right hon. and learned Gentleman to the written statement of 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 171WS. The EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports is not justiciable in the European Court of Justice.

Arms Exports (EU Code of Conduct)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 171WS, on EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, what legal remedy exists if a supplier in an EU member state breaches the current arms embargo.

Jack Straw: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The EU embargo on the sale of arms to China reflects a political commitment by member states. It sets a high common standard for all member states' assessment of applications to export all items on the EU Common Military List. All EU member states have incorporated the Code of Conduct into their export licensing procedures, according to their national laws. There is no common interpretation of this commitment among member states. In the UK, exporters are required to seek a licence before exporting controlled goods or technology. A licence will not be issued if approval would be inconsistent with, inter alia, the UK's interpretation of the China embargo. The UK's interpretation of the embargo was set out by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the late Derek Fatchett, in a reply on 3 June 1998, Official Report, columns 240–41 to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker). The legal penalty under the Export Control Act 2002 for exporting controlled goods or technology without a licence may be imprisonment for up to 10 years. I am sending the information the right hon. and learned Gentleman requested on penalties which apply in other member states and placing a copy in the Library of the House.

Arms Exports (EU Code of Conduct)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 171WS, on EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, whether the Code of Conduct will forbid the export to China of (a) machine guns, (b) large calibre weapons, (c) bombs, (d) torpedoes, (e) rockets, (f) missiles, (g) ammunition, (h) military aircraft, (i) helicopters, (j) vessels of war, (k) armoured fighting vehicles, (l) command and control systems and (m) logistics management systems.

Jack Straw: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The EU Code of Conduct sets a high standard for all member states' assessment of applications to export all item on the EU Common Military List. All EU member states have incorporated the Code of Conduct into their export licensing procedures, according to their national laws. The list includes all the items listed in the question, although some helicopters and logistics management systems may be purely for civil use, and therefore not licensable. To ask what specific equipment the code 'forbids' is to misunderstand the way it functions. The code obliges member states to refuse to license the export of any item on the list if, inter alia, there is a clear risk that it might be used for internal repression, aggressively against another country, or to assert by force a territorial claim. There is also a provision in the code which provides for denial of export licences for equipment which may affect the national security of the UK, of territories whose external relations are the UK's responsibility, and of allies, EU member states and other friendly countries". The code applies to exports to China and all other countries, and has proved effective since its inception in 1998. It is the criteria in the Code of Conduct, rather than the Arms Embargo on China, which have formed the basis for the clear majority of the licence refusals made by EU member states in respect of China.

Attorney-General (Iraq Advice)

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he had a role in the (a) framing, (b) drafting and (c) drawing up of the parliamentary answer given by the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003 on Iraq.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had no role in the framing, drafting and drawing up of the Parliamentary Answer given by the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003 on Iraq.

Bolivia

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Bolivian Congress's decision to charge former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and members of his former cabinet with genocide.

Bill Rammell: We are aware that former President of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and members of his cabinet are charged with genocide. We believe this is an internal affair and a matter for Bolivian authorities. We trust that the case will be pursued with full respect for the due process of the rule of law.

China (Arms Embargo)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the US Administration on the lifting of the EU's arms embargo on China; what the US's position was; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 20 January 2005, Official Report, columns 1055–56W to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Wilkinson).

Craig Murray

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what redundancy package was negotiated with Mr. Craig Murray; and whether confidentiality clauses were included.

Douglas Alexander: Mr. Murray applied for early severance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in accordance with the terms of the FCO's current programme to reduce its staff numbers. The terms for all early departures, including Mr. Murray's, are those laid down under standard Cabinet Office-approved rules. No officer who has departed under these terms has been asked to agree any confidentiality clauses. It would not be appropriate for us to go into the detail of the terms received by individuals.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the attack on UN peacekeepers in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and what additional help the British Government plans to offer in support of peace-keeping activities there.

Chris Mullin: We condemn the attack on a patrol of Bangladeshi peacekeepers in Ituri province by local militias and offer our condolences to the families of those killed. We remain determined to support the United Nations in ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice.
	An additional UK officer will shortly be seconded to the UN peacekeeping force (MONUC). The Ministry of Defence are also making a contribution to training staff at the newly-established divisional headquarters in Kisangani. We await the UN Secretary-General's next report on the Democratic Republic of Congo and will carefully consider its recommendations on additional support that might be required to continue to improve MONUC's effectiveness.

Departmental Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people are employed in the FCO Services: Visits section; and what training they received in advance of taking up their position.

Bill Rammell: There are 34 full-time staff and 43 part-time contract staff employed in Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services: Visits. The part-time contract staff are Liaison Officers and Interpreters employed on a visit by visit basis to accompany the visitors to their official appointments.
	On joining FCO Services: Visits, all staff receive full on the job training from experienced colleagues covering all elements of the role.

Departmental Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how individuals were recruited by the FCO Services: Visits section in the last year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: In the last year all Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services: Visits vacancies have been filled from within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Europe Day

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has made for the celebration of Europe Day on 9 May.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no plans to celebrate Europe Day.

Europe Day

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what budget his Department has allocated for the celebration of Europe Day on 9 May.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not allocated a budget for the celebration of Europe Day.

Europe Day

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Ministers in his Department will be involved in activities to mark or celebrate Europe Day on 9 May.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 3 March 2005
	Ministers' plans for involvement in activities to celebrate Europe Day are not yet confirmed.

Falklands

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what the situation is regarding air links between the Falkland Islands and the South American mainland; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many charter flights operate to the Falkland Islands using Argentine airspace, for the purposes of cruise ship passenger exchange.

Jack Straw: holding answer 4 March 2005
	No charter flights currently operate between the Falkland Islands and the South American mainland. Charter flights between the Falkland Islands and the South American mainland have been halted since the end of 2003, when the Argentine Government stopped granting permission for charter flights to the Falkland Islands to use Argentine airspace. The scheduled LAN Chile flight is not affected by discussions over charter flights and continues to operate on a weekly basis between Southern Chile and the Falkland Islands.
	I also refer the right hon. and learned Gentleman to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Rammell) to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Redcar (Vera Baird) on 3 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1381–82W.

Iraq

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received regarding the export of oil from the Iraqi port of Khor al-Amaya in January and February 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Under the UN sanctions regime, Iraq was not permitted to export oil from the Khor al-Amaya terminal. In February 2003 the UK mission to the UN in New York was informed that several tankers had evaded the US-led Multinational Interception Force which was tasked with upholding sanctions against Iraq and entered the Iraqi port of Khor al-Amaya. This was reported to the relevant UK authorities and shared with the US.

Israel

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli authorities on the extension of the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) prohibiting residents or citizens of Israel who are married to residents of the Occupied Territories from living in Israel with their spouses.

Bill Rammell: We are concerned about the extension to the Citizenship and Entrance to Israel Law, which was made on 31 January, and its impact on Arab Israelis and Palestinians from the Occupied Territories. We have raised our concerns with the Israeli Government over this law, including with our EU partners on 21 July 2004. We will continue to monitor the situation and make appropriate representations.

Israel

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning (a) the assassination of two members of the Al Asqa brigade and (b) the killing by shooting of children in Kuta Dahil, Bertniya Sabn al-Rjoub and Ratah during the ceasefire declared between Israel and Palestine.

Bill Rammell: We recognise Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism but it must act in accordance with international law. In this context we have made representations at every level to the Israeli authorities raising our concerns regarding the disproportionate use offered by the Israeli defence forces in Gaza, and the number of civilian casualties, particularly children, which have resulted from their actions. We have not made specific representations concerning the cases detailed by the hon. Member.

Israel

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning (a) the planned construction of a new settlement, Gvast Wan Bethlehem, (b) the new settlement on Jayyous Village land in Qalqilya and (c) the planned expansion of the Alfei Menashe settlement in Qalqilya;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning the expansion of (a) the Betan Unit settlement and (b) the Hat Homa settlement in Bethlehem district;
	(3)  whether he plans to take action against the Israeli Government following their refusal to abide by the International Court of Justice ruling on the separation barrier.

Bill Rammell: We have made frequent representations to the Israeli Government expressing our concern over continued settlement activity and the routing of the separation barrier. While Israel has a legitimate right to defend itself against terrorist attacks, we consider construction of the barrier on occupied land to be unlawful and we note that this was also the conclusion of the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion. We have also made clear our view that settlements are illegal under international law. The Roadmap requires that Israel freeze all settlement expansion and dismantle outposts erected since March 2001.
	The barrier and settlements were raised most recently by my right hon. Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean during her meeting with the Israeli ambassador on 22 February. The British embassy in Tel Aviv has also made representations to the Israeli Government on construction in Jayyous. We have not made representations on the other individual settlements specified.

Israel

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning the evacuation and dismantling by the Israeli army of Israeli settler outposts in the West Bank.

Bill Rammell: We believe that settlement expansion is a major obstacle to the peace process. We welcome Prime Minister Sharon's commitment in the Roadmap to freeze construction in settlements and to dismantle settlement outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law. We expect to see these commitments met. The Israeli Government are currently working on both mapping the outposts and investigating the legal framework for evacuating them. We are monitoring their work closely.

IT (Disciplinary Procedures)

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department have (a) received official warnings and (b) faced disciplinary procedures following breaches of IT policy in each year since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: Breaches of IT policy have been monitored periodically since April 2003. Between April and December 2003, 69 staff received official warnings. Between January and December 2004, 36 staff received official warnings. These warnings form part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office disciplinary process.

Kenya

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what support the Government have given to Kroll in its work to recover moneys obtained through corruption in Kenya.

Chris Mullin: None. I understand that Kroll has been engaged by the Government of Kenya. Neither the Government of Kenya nor the company have sought our assistance in identifying or recovering corruptly obtained money or assets in the UK.

Kyrgyzstan

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK is taking to promote a democratic and pluralistic society in Kyrgyzstan.

Bill Rammell: We work closely both bilaterally and through the EU and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to support a variety of projects aimed at promoting a democratic and pluralistic society in Kyrgyzstan. We similarly encourage the Kyrgyz Government publicly and privately towards this end. In January this year, our Ambassador publicly expressed support for the election-related work of the OSCE in Kyrgyzstan.
	In the build-up to the recent elections we supported a range of projects including several voter education campaigns, exit polling, training for independent domestic election observers and promoting open dialogue between Government officials and NGOs. Through the UN Development Programme we also contributed to updating the Kyrgyz Central Election Committee's electronic voter system.
	We have also supported the ombudsman and other projects on the media, rights of the child, OSCE police reform and alternatives to the use of prison.
	Kyrgyzstan is a focal country for the Department for International Development (DfID). Through their £3.35 million development programme, DfID engage with the Government on several policy areas including governance and anti corruption. Kyrgyzstan has also signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative which aims to promote Government and corporate accountability in the extractive industries.

Ministerial Visits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors determined his Department's selection of Lahore and Gujarat for inclusion in the itinerary of his 2005 South Asia tour; and what the cost was of including those destinations in the tour.

Jack Straw: I visited Lahore at the longstanding invitation of the Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, with whom I had a working dinner; the guests at which included a wide range of senior representatives from business, Government and the media. I also used the visit to deliver a keynote speech to an invited audience of over 200 in Pakistan's second largest city. The additional cost of the Lahore element was £14,116.
	I visited Gujarat in Pakistan's Punjab province to pursue consular and visa objectives, and to develop further the important people to people links between that part of Pakistan and the Pakistani communities in the UK. I was hosted in Gujarat by the Chief Minister of Punjab, whose home town it is, and I used the opportunity to develop my links with this important political family. The additional cost of the Gujarat element was £1,307.

Ministerial Visits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rules apply to the conduct of Ministers in the selection of foreign destinations for ministerial visits.

Jack Straw: All arrangements for overseas travel by Ministers are in accordance with the ministerial code.

Ministerial Visits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact on the UK Muslim community of the scheduling of Ministerial visits to Lahore and Gujarat.

Jack Straw: As is usual in respect of ministerial visits, no formal assessment has been made of the impact on the British Muslim community of my recent visit to Lahore and Gujarat in Pakistan, but it appears to have been well received by both the central and provincial governments, and by the media in Pakistan.

Ministerial Visits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who in his Department took the decision to include Lahore and Gujarat in the itinerary of his recent visit to South Asia.

Jack Straw: I made the decision to visit Lahore and Gujarat in Pakistan, as I had to visit Islamabad, taking into account advice from officials.

Public Diplomacy Unit

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs within what Directorate in his Department the Public Diplomacy Unit is based; and what the remit of the Unit is.

Jack Straw: The Public Diplomacy Group of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) forms part of the Directorate for Strategy and Information. The remit of the Group is to influence positively foreign perceptions of the UK, in line with FCO strategic priorities and to strengthen the FCO's relationships with Parliament, Whitehall, the British Council, the BBC World Service and the devolved administrations, and its outreach to civil society.

Public Diplomacy Unit

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the budget for the Public Diplomacy Unit (a) is in 2004–05 and (b) was in 2003–04; and how many staff work in the Public Diplomacy Unit.

Jack Straw: The budget for the Public Diplomacy Group of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is £15,768,100 in the current financial year and was £15,534,494 in 2003–04. 63 staff are employed in the Group.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received relating to the commissioning by President Museveni of members of the paramilitary Kalangala Action Plan Youth Brigade for the purpose of intimidating the opposition in Uganda.

Chris Mullin: We have heard reports of the reactivation of the Kalangala Action Plan Youth Brigade, which according to Uganda's own Parliament was implicated in violence during the 2001 elections. We have raised our concerns with the Ugandan authorities, who have assured us that any illegal activity will be handled by the police. We shall take a close interest in the activities of this group.

Uzbekistan

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken to investigate alleged human rights abuse in Uzbekistan.

Bill Rammell: We remain disturbed by reports of human rights abuses in Uzbekistan and have consistently made clear to the Uzbek Government the extent of our concern.
	On 1 March 2005 I drew to the attention of the Uzbek ambassador our concern at reports that Uzbekistan continued in 2004 to execute those prisoners on death row with appeals lodged with the UN Human Rights Committee.
	As we prepare to assume the Presidency of the EU, we will look to remain actively—and where necessary critically—engaged on questions of economic and political governance, including human rights, in Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole.

Venezuela

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between Venezuela and the United States of America, with particular reference to the effects of arms purchases by Venezuela from Russia.

Bill Rammell: Bilateral relations between Venezuela and the US are a matter for the two countries concerned.
	Venezuela has stated its intention to purchase a number of assault rifles from Russia for use by army reservists. Venezuela is committed to the politically binding United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons adopted in July 2001. Under this Programme of Action Venezuela has a right to import weapons for its self-defence and security. It is also required to ensure that these weapons are properly stored and managed and that proper records are kept.

Zimbabwe

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place between the Government and (a) the US Administration, (b) EU member states and (c) the South African Government on the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: We regularly discuss the situation in Zimbabwe with the US Administration, our EU partners and the South African Government. Our immediate priority remains free and fair elections on 31 March.

Zimbabwe

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions have taken place between the Government and the UN regarding election monitoring in Zimbabwe;
	(2)  what discussions have taken place between the Government and the Southern African Development Community regarding election monitoring in Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: We are in regular touch with the UN Secretariat and the members of the Southern African Development Community over the election in Zimbabwe. We want Zimbabwe to honour in full its commitment to the Southern African Development Community electoral principles.
	We also want Zimbabwe to invite a wide range of international observers, including the UN; they have made clear they do not intend to do so. These actions speak for themselves.

Zimbabwe

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese Government concerning the recent shipment of assault rifles, military vehicles, riot equipment and tear gas to Zimbabwe.

Jack Straw: holding answer 4 March 2005
	The Government regularly discusses export control and counter-proliferation issues with the Chinese Government. In January 2005 officials participated in an EU-China export controls seminar, and later this month a Chinese delegation will travel to the UK to continue this cooperation. These talks stress the importance of taking account of the use to which strategic exports are to be put in the country of final destination and the importance of refusing exports where there is a clear risk that they might be used for internal repression. The Government has not to date raised with China the specific shipment that the right hon. and learned Gentleman refers to. But the Government would not approve export of goods which might be used for internal repression or external aggression, or where we were concerned that equipment would be re-exported and used for these purposes. We have serious concerns about the export of arms to Zimbabwe, a country with a track record of armed internal repression. It is also a further indictment of the skewed priorities of the Mugabe regime if they believe arms purchases of this kind matter more than relieving the woeful humanitarian situation.

WORK AND PENSIONS

APW Pension Scheme

David Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the additional voluntary contributions which some APW scheme members paid will be combined with ordinary scheme benefits in order to calculate a person's benefits for the purposes of deemed buyback.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 3 March 2005
	In order to judge whether some of the Deemed Buyback conditions are met, three figures have to be calculated:
	(a) the scheme must calculate the amount of scheme rights that are actually available in respect of this member;
	(b) the scheme then calculates how much this would be if the scheme had been funded to the level of the statutory minimum funding requirement;
	(c) the Inland Revenue calculate the amount required to restore State Scheme rights to the level they would have been had the person never been contracted-out.
	In order to take advantage of the Deemed Buyback process, the full amount of scheme rights that are actually available in respect of the member held by the scheme must be paid over to the Inland Revenue before the member is restored into State Earnings Related Pension Scheme/State Second Pension. This includes voluntary contributions which are held by the scheme.
	The full amount of cash in the scheme should be paid to the Inland Revenue because Deemed Buyback works by giving a member more SERPS than the payment represents. It would not be appropriate for a scheme member to keep some of the funds held in the scheme and thus give them a larger subsidy than needed at the expense of the taxpayer.
	Alternatively, as Deemed Buyback is one of a number of options available to a member for securing their accrued rights, they may decide it is in their best interest to keep their voluntary contributions and scheme rights and, for example, use them to secure an annuity.

APW Pension Scheme

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Oral Statement of the Minister of State for Pensions on 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 22WH, on APW Pension Scheme, from which pension schemes data returns were received in relation to the Financial Assistance Scheme but do not appear to be eligible for assistance under the scheme; for what reason each is not eligible; and how many members are affected (a) in total and (b) in each scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The majority of those schemes referred to were ineligible for inclusion on the list of schemes potentially eligible for the FAS because insufficient information, in some cases including information on the solvency position of the employer, had been provided. Omission from the list does not determine whether those schemes will or will not be qualifying pension schemes for the purposes of the FAS, nor therefore whether members of those schemes will or will not qualify for assistance. Schemes will be given the opportunity of providing further information in due course. It would therefore be inappropriate at this stage to publish the information requested.

Benefits

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Workand Pensions how much his Department spent on (a) male and (b) female recipients of (i) the basic state pension, (ii) SERPS and (iii) pension credit.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		£ million
		
			 Expenditure 2003–04 Male Female 
		
		
			 Basic state pension 16,872 22,907 
			 SERPS 4,694 1,984 
			 Pension credit 1,981 2,812 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures are for Great Britain and rounded to the nearest million.
	2.Expenditure is taken from departmental accounting systems, while the data to divide this between male and female recipients is taken from a 5 per cent. sample of benefit records and is subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3.Expenditure on pension credit includes minimum income guarantee for April to September 2003.
	4.Benefit expenditure forecast information is published on the Internet at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp

Child Support Agency

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases in Midlothian have been submitted to the Child Support Agency since its inception; and how many cases in Midlothian are before the agency now.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. David Hamilton, dated 7 March 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases in Midlothian have been submitted to the Child Support Agency since its inception; and how many cases in Midlothian are before the Agency now.
	I am unable to answer this question, as the Agency does not record information at this level.
	I can however tell you that the number of cases for which Scotland and North Eastern Business Unit is currently responsible totals around 240,000. Of these cases around 110,000 have been registered on the new computer system; approximately 65,000 of these cases are being dealt with under the new legislation and 45,000 under the old legislation. In addition around 130,000 are currently old scheme cases on the old computer system.

Child Support Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of parents who contribute to the upkeep and maintenance of their children through the Child Support Agency do not have access to their children; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: The information is not available.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many risk mitigation plans the Child Support Agency has prepared in each of the last four years.

Chris Pond: holding answer 2 March 2005
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 7 March 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many risk mitigation plans the Child Support Agency has prepared in each of the last four years.
	The Child Support Agency's approach to risk management supports that recommended by the Department for Work and Pensions. This has entailed building the systematic consideration and management of risks into existing core business functions whilst managing risks at all levels within the business. To this end both the volume and content of the mitigation plans held within the Agency remain fluid. Plans are subject to regular review and updating as the business changes and risks are identified, managed or eventually closed. The Agency's high level risk process are referred to within both our externally published Business Plan and our Annual Report and Accounts. Agency high level risks are monitored/reviewed monthly through the Agency's Business Information Bulletin. We will arrange for the Agency's Business Information Bulletins to be made available in the Library.

Departmental Policies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Coventry, South constituency, the effects in Coventry, South of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: We have undertaken a fundamental overhaul of the welfare system, transforming it to an active system that fights poverty, creates opportunity and helps people become self-sufficient and independent.
	Since 2001, the Government have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Coventry, South will have benefited from these improvements in disability rights. Similarly, families with severely disabled 3 and 4-year-old children who are unable, or virtually unable to walk will have benefited from the Government's decision to lower the minimum age entitlement to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance from April 2001, while older and less well off carers have gained extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
	In 2002–03 we estimate there were around 10 million adults (22 per cent.) and 0.7 million children (5 per cent.) in Great Britain likely to be covered by the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
	The figures can be broken down to regional level which shows that 21 per cent. of adults and 6 per cent. of children in the West Midlands region are likely to be covered by the provisions of the DDA.
	Information on the numbers of customers in Coventry, South who are in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA) and attendance allowance (AA) is in the table.
	
		Coventry, South
		
			 Operational year DLA/AA recipients 
		
		
			 2001 6,100 
			 2002 6,600 
			 2003 7,000 
			 2004 7,100 
		
	
	Source:
	DWP Information Centre. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and are from a 5 per cent. sample at 31 August each year.
	Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. The number of people in work is at historically high levels of over 28.5 million; in Coventry, South, the proportion in employment has risen to 68.4 per cent.
	Our new deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over 50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Nationally over 1.2 million people have been helped into work by the new deals, with 1,970 in Coventry, South alone.
	Significant progress has been made in eradicating child poverty and the latest figures (for 2002–03) show that, in the UK, there were over half a million fewer children in relative low income than there were in 1996–97. Since 2001–02 incomes for lone parents in receipt of benefit have risen by more than prices or the cost of living. In April 2005 the child allowance rate in income support for a child up to 18-years-old will have been increased by 40 per cent. since 2001–02. Child rates in income support and jobseeker's allowance are also being increased above inflation in April 2005 in line with child tax credit upratings. All of this has benefited 2,400 families in Coventry, South.
	We want all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement and to share fairly in the rising prosperity of the country and our first priority has been to help the poorest pensioners. The Government will be spending nearly £10 billion more in 2004–05 (in 2004–05 prices) on pensioners as a result of measures introduced since 1997, with around half going to the poorest third.
	Our reforms include the State second pension, which helps more future pensioners build up better pensions, especially carers. Pension credit, introduced from October 2003, provides a contribution to a guaranteed minimum income for those aged 60 and over and, for the first time, those over aged 65 and over may be rewarded for savings and income. As of December 2004, around 4,690 pensioners in Coventry, South are receiving pension credit, with an average award of £44.55 per week.
	We know that older people are disproportionately affected by fuel poverty. This winter (2004–05) we have again made available a winter fuel payment of £200 for each eligible household with someone aged 60 or over and £300 to those with someone aged 80 or over to help with their fuel bills. Additionally, for this year, eligible households with someone aged 70 or over will receive the one-off 70+ payment of £100 to help with living expenses including council tax bills. It is paid with the winter fuel payment.
	The constituency data on winter fuel payments and the additional 80+ annual payment is available in the Library.
	Since 1997 single pensioners and pensioner couples have seen a real terms increase in their basic state pension of 7 per cent. and 8 per cent., respectively. Some 16.1 thousand pensioners in Coventry, South have benefited from this increase.

Disabled People (Battersea)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with disabilities in Battersea have returned to work in each of the last seven years.

Jane Kennedy: Information on the number of disabled people who have benefited from the new deal programmes in Battersea is shown in the following table.
	
		Number of disabled people who have entered work through the following new deal programmes in Battersea; new deal for young people; new deal 25 plus; new deal for lone parents;new deal 50 plus
		
			  Individuals into work 
		
		
			 October 1997-September 1998 0 
			 October 1998-September 1999 30 
			 October 1999-September 2000 30 
			 October 2000-September 2001 30 
			 October 2001-September 2002 20 
			 October 2002-September 2003 40 
			 October 2003-September 2004 20 
			 Total 170 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.New deal for partners information is only available at national level.
	2.New deal for young people started in January 1998; new deal 25plus started in July 1998; new deal for lone parents started in October 1998; new deal 50 plus started in April 2000.
	3.New deal 50 plus information relates to the number of new deal 50 plus employment credit starts to March 2003. Information on the number of new deal 50 plus recorded job entries from April 2003 to September 2004 is not available at constituency level.
	4.Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database
	Information on the new deal for disabled people is not available at constituency level so information has been provided for the Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth Jobcentre Plus district.
	
		Number of disabled people who have entered work through the new deal for disabled people (NDDP) in the Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth Jobcentre Plus district
		
			  Individuals into work 
		
		
			 July 2001–September 2001 0 
			 October 2001–September 2002 30 
			 October 2002–September 2003 130 
			 October 2003–September 2004 240 
			 Total 400 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.NDDP individuals into work figures relate to the number of individuals gaining NDDP job broker jobs and individuals gaining NDDP Jobcentre Plus jobs.
	2.The NDDP programme is available to people in receipt of a disability or health related benefit and started in July 2001.
	3.Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database
	In addition to new deal there are a number of programmes such as Access to Work, Work Preparation and WORKSTEP designed to help disabled people return to work. Details of the number of people helped to return to work through these programmes is not available at constituency or Jobcentre Plus district level.
	Jobcentre Plus also offers interviews with a personal adviser to all disabled people making new or repeat claims to qualifying benefits to ensure they are aware of the help and opportunities available to them.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by schemes in making data returns in relation to the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), broken down between those (a) that are on the list of those potentially eligible for inclusion in the FAS and (b) that are not.

Malcolm Wicks: No such estimate has been made. In practice the cost of providing the information requested will vary depending on the quality and availability of individual scheme records. Recognising this, we have sought to keep our requirements to a minimum and are very grateful for the extensive co-operation we have received from independent trustees scheme administrators and the assistance in kind provided by the pensions industry.

Five-year Strategy

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide the figures on which the percentage national off-flow rates illustrated in Figure 13 on Page 46 of his Department's Five Year Strategy were based.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the following table.
	
		Four month incapacity benefit off-flow rate
		
			  National Phase 1 pathways areas 
			 Month of claim Claims in month Number leaving within four months Percentage leaving within four months Claims in month Number leaving within four months Percentage leaving within four months 
		
		
			 2002   
			 April 52,600 10,100 19 2,200 500 21 
			 May 53,200 9,800 18 2,300 500 21 
			 June 49,000 10,100 21 2,200 500 22 
			 July 54,300 11,300 21 2,300 500 23 
			 August 50,800 8,900 18 2,300 400 19 
			 September 52,200 9,700 19 2,300 500 20 
			 October 54,500 10,100 19 2,400 500 20 
			 November 54,800 12,400 23 2,400 600 24 
			 December 43,000 9,700 23 1,900 500 26 
			 2003   
			 January 62,200 13,400 22 2,700 700 25 
			 February 50,000 10,600 21 2,100 500 24 
			 March 53,500 10,800 20 2,300 500 22 
			 April 49,100 8,700 18 2,200 400 19 
			 May 51,000 9,800 19 2,200 500 20 
			 June 51,200 10,300 20 2,200 400 20 
			 July 52,700 10,500 20 2,200 500 24 
			 August 48,600 8,900 18 2,100 400 20 
			 September 52,200 9,200 18 2,200 400 20 
			 October 53,900 10,200 19 2,300 500 23 
			 November 50,000 9,900 20 2,100 600 28 
			 December 42,900 8,600 20 1,800 500 29 
			 2004   
			 January 56,300 10,100 18 2,500 700 28 
			 February 47,600 8,100 17 2,000 500 26 
			 March 53,600 9,700 18 2,400 600 27 
			 April 48,200 8,300 17 2,100 600 26 
			 May 46,500 7,800 17 2,000 500 26 
			 June 49,100 8,900 18 2,200 600 27 
			 July(59) 48,900 9,200 19 2,100 600 27 
			 August(59) 46,400 8,100 18 2,000 500 26 
		
	
	(59)Figures for July and August are provisional and are likely to be updated as more data becomes available.
	Note:
	The figures are produced from the Department's Working Age Statistical Database (WASD). WASD does not include a proportion of short-term incapacity benefit claims; therefore the off-flow rates presented will be lower than actual rates. However, trends over time and comparisons between areas will be consistent.

Intensive Activity Pilot

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the private sector contractors supplying services relating to the intensive activity period pilot scheme for those aged between 50 and 59 years, broken down by jobcentre office areas.

Jane Kennedy: The information is in the table.
	
		Private sector contractors in pilot locations—new deal intensive activity 50–59 pilot
		
			 Jobcentre Plus district Training providers 
		
		
			 Calderdale and Kirklees CMS Vocational Training Limited Direct Training Limited S and S Training Services 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire CWT Focus Pathways JHP Group Limited Solutions (also known as Workworld). 
			 East Lancashire Training 2000 Limited 
			 Essex Seetec Business Technology Centre Limited 
			 Hampshire Bennington Training Services 
			 The Marches Training and Contracting Services Vale Training and Development 
			 Dorset and Somerset Paragon Training 
			 Suffolk Pelcombe Training Limited Seetec Business Technology Centre Limited 
			 Derbyshire Seetec Business Technology Centre Limited Spire 
			 Highlands, Islands and Clyde Coast Microcom (Glasgow) Limited Nevis Training Centre 
			 Ayrshire, Dumfries, Galloway and Inverclyde Lowland Training Services Limited Microcom (Glasgow) Limited 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The pilot is also operating in Bridgend, Leicestershire and Gateshead. There are no private sector providers in these locations.
	2.Some providers may not yet have provided services to pilot participants, but may be required to do so during the pilot.
	Source:
	DWP Provision and Adviser Division; DWP Partnerships Division

Job Centres (Dorset)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure that the job centres at (a) Blandford, (b) Bridport, (c) Christchurch, (d) Poole and (e) Wareham are open on a full-time basis to provide services for the public; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Mr. Jeremy Groombridge to Mr. Christopher Chope, dated 7 March 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked David Anderson, Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, to reply to your question about the service provided by the Job Centres at Blandford, Bridport, Christchurch, Poole and Wareham. I am replying on behalf of David Anderson, as one of the Directors of the Jobcentre Plus Board. At present all these offices provide services for the public on a full-time basis.
	Jobcentre Plus is continuously reviewing arrangements for service delivery in order to ensure that we provide value for money and take account of the new ways customers access our services. The need for face-to-face facilities for jobsearch and other aspects of our business has been superseded in many instances by new business processes and the use of information technology. For example, over the last 12 months we have seen an increase of over 40 per cent. in the number of hits on our jobsearch website. Encouraging our customers to use these new channels enables us to focus on those customers who need greatest help, through the intervention of personal advisers.
	It would be inappropriate to speculate on any future review of delivery sites. However, I can assure you that should local managers determine that changes are required to local service delivery arrangements then local stakeholders would be fully consulted before any changes take place.
	I hope that this is helpful.

Means-tested Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of incapacity benefit and other means-tested benefits paid to incapacity benefit recipients was in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 4 March 2005
	The information is in the following table.
	
		Benefit expenditure on incapacity benefit recipients 2003–04
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Incapacity benefit 6,718 
			 Severe disablement allowance 763 
			 Income support 3,679 
			 Housing benefit 2,188 
			 Council tax benefit 444 
			 Total 13,791 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds.
	2.Figures for income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit include expenditure for people receiving incapacity benefit credits and a small amount of money paid to disabled people who do not receive incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance.
	3.Figures do not include pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit paid to people between the ages of 60 and 64.
	4.Figures exclude severe disablement allowance for people over state pension age.
	5.Figures may not sum due to rounding
	Source:
	DWP expenditure tables.

Means-tested Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of income support for claimants of the disability premium and other means-tested benefits which are drawn by these claimants was in the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Pond: holding answer 4 March 2005
	It is not possible to accurately state the cost of income support, housing benefit or council tax benefit for claimants of the disability premium. The available information is in the table.
	
		Income related benefit expenditure for people under 60 years of age and classed as long-term sick or disabled
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Income support 4,621 
			 Housing benefit 3,009 
			 Council tax benefit 660 
			 Total 8,290 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds.
	2.Figures quoted are for 2003–04 are estimated outturn.
	Source:
	DWP expenditure tables—pre-Budget report 2004.

Pathways to Work

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of claimants within the Pathways to Work pilots have completed five compulsory work focussed interviews.

Maria Eagle: Just under one fifth of customers expected to have participated in the repeat work focused interviews process are recorded as attending five repeat work focused interviews by the end November 2004. A proportion of customers are likely to have had one or more of their WFIs deferred or waived.

Pension Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people receiving pension credit have earnings.

Malcolm Wicks: As at August 2004, the latest date for which this information is available, there were 21,300 households in Great Britain in receipt of pension credit in which the claimant or a partner was receiving earnings. These households comprised 35,000 individuals.
	Notes
	1.Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2.Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 3.Individuals may include a small number of partners under the age of 60. 4.For couples, earnings are either the claimant's or the partners' earnings.
	Source
	IAD Information Centre, Department for Work and Pensions, 5 per cent. sample.

Pensioners

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assistance his Department provides to pensioners during the coldest winter months.

Malcolm Wicks: Winter fuel payments are available to people aged 60 or over who are ordinarily resident in the UK. These payments of £200 are paid to all eligible households. Households which include people aged 80 or over can receive an extra payment of £100. Over 11 million payments are made automatically each year.
	In addition, cold weather payments provide extra help towards heating costs for the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society, including pensioners receiving pension credit, in periods of exceptionally cold weather.
	The cold weather payment is made automatically to people awarded pension credit when the average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0 degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to the customer's postcode. Savings are not taken into account and cold weather payments are paid in addition to winter fuel payments.
	In 2003–04 a total of 418,000 cold weather payments were made, to pensioners and other vulnerable groups, worth £3.5 million.

Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Midlothian were paid compensation under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004.

Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is that during the period April 2003 to March 2004, a total of 1,501 awards were made in Great Britain. Of these 255 were made to people resident in Scotland. During the period April 2004 to February 2005 the total awards were 1,422, of which 220 were made to Scottish residents.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the occasions between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004 when special advisers attended meetings with external representatives at which Ministers were not present.

Maria Eagle: From time to time special advisers hold meetings with a wide range of external representatives in their official capacity. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
	Specifically, in so far as records are kept, the Department's special advisers met with:
	A range of different media representatives on 29 June 2003, 23 July 2003, 24 July 2003, 3 November 2003, 11 December 2003 and 5 February 2004.
	Policy specialists for other countries on 14 July 2003 and 3 September 2003.
	Representatives of the Social Market Foundation on 19 August 2003 and 22 September 2003.
	Representatives of Institute of Public Policy Research on 4 November 2003.
	A union representative on 13 October 2003.
	A Deputy Minister of the National Assembly for Wales on 5 February 2004.

Sure Start (Battersea)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many mothers have received the Sure Start maternity grant in the Jobcentre Plus district which includes Battersea.

Chris Pond: Battersea is included in the Jobcentre Plus district of Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth. Thisdistrict was created for Social Fund purposes in January 2004.
	
		Sure Start maternity grants made in Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth Jobcentre Plus district
		
			  Number of awards 
		
		
			 2003–04 January to March 1,162 
			 2004–05 April to January 3,650 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Data are given for all awards, irrespective of whether the award was made to the mother or her partner.
	2.Data for 2003–04 include awards made in January 2004 which covered the relevant area before the district was formally created for Social Fund purposes.
	Source:
	DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

HOME DEPARTMENT

Special Constables

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of special constables.

Hazel Blears: Special constables are a vital part of our modern police service. They work with regular police officers and community support officers to reduce crime, disorder and anti—social behaviour by providing high visibility patrols and public reassurance. Last week I took part in the national specials weekend to raise awareness of the vital and valuable work of specials.

Religious Incitement

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers he has to limit the availability of anti-Semitic and extreme anti-Israel incitement on the internet.

Fiona Mactaggart: There are a number of incitement offences in law which provide protection against anti-Semitic and extreme anti-Israel incitement. In particular, this includes the incitement to racial hatred offence in the Public Order Act 1986 which makes it an offence to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intention or likelihood that hatred would be stirred up on the grounds of colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins.
	The legal position is that what is illegal off-line is illegal on-line, so, provided that the elements of the offence are made out, a prosecution for incitement to racial hatred could be taken for words or behaviour published on the internet.

Custody Suites

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the overall availability and capacity of custody suites in police stations.

Caroline Flint: The Department does not keep central records of the availability and capacity of police custody suites. This is an operational matter for police chief constables.

Asylum and Immigration

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the integration of asylum seekers into local communities in Glasgow.

Des Browne: My hon. Friend will appreciate that the people who know best are local agencies and authorities in Glasgow. The Scottish Refugee Council works to bring asylum seekers, refugees and local people together to improve their communities and this work has been commended in an independent report by the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice entitled Building Bridges: Local Responses to the Resettlement of Asylum Seekers in Glasgow". I would commend its contents to him. I would like to mention as well, the work undertaken by Glasgow city council since 2000 and I very much hope the partnership between MASS and the council will continue. Partnership working to provide an effective system of support for asylum seekers is essential, not only for asylum seekers but also to ensure continued community cohesion.

Asylum and Immigration

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many measures theUK has opted into under title IV of the EC treaty covering visas, asylum, immigration and movement of persons.

Des Browne: The Government's position remains unchanged since 1999 when the treaty of Amsterdam, including our title IV protocol came into effect. The UK retains the right to opt in to EU asylum and immigrations measures. Where measures are in our interest we will opt in.
	To date, our records show that we have opted in to:
	Eight measures related to Dublin and Eurodac arrangements which enable us to return asylum seekers to the European Union member state responsible for determining their claim;
	11 negotiating mandates for European Community readmission agreements with third countries and four resulting readmission agreements that have been finalised to date. The aim of these agreements is to facilitate the return of third country nationals who do not or no longer have a basis to remain in the territory of member states;
	Four minimum standards measures in the field of asylum, which the UK already adheres to;
	11 measures on illegal immigration contributing to increased security of the European Union's borders;
	Two measures relating to the format of visas.

Asylum and Immigration

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of measures he has taken to control (a) illegal immigration and (b) unfounded asylum claims.

Des Browne: The measures we have taken to secure our border, including deploying new detection technology, increasing the number of juxtaposed control locations and expanding the airline liaison network, have had a significant impact on both illegal immigration and asylum intake.
	(a) An indication of our success in combating illegal entry is the fall by 65 per cent. of clandestine entry in Kent in 2003 compared with 2002. This fall has continued in 2004 with a 44 per cent. decrease in clandestines in Kent in 2004 compared to 2003.
	In addition carriers at ALO locations during 2004 have denied over 30,000 passengers boarding.
	(b) The measures taken have also resulted in a fall in asylum applications. Between October and December 2004 asylum applications were 22 per cent. lower than the same period in 2003 and 68 per cent. lower than the peak of October 2002.
	Note:
	Statistics on clandestine entry are based on locally collated figures and may be subject to change.

Asylum and Immigration

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there has been to the average time taken to process initial asylum applications in each year since 2000.

Des Browne: Information on the timeliness of initial decisions on new substantive cases is published quarterly on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum and Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department what plans he has to introduce compulsory testing of immigrants for (a) HIV and (b) tuberculosis.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 24 February 2005
	As we made clear in our five year strategy for asylum and immigration 'Controlling our borders: Making migration work for Britain' (Cm 6472), our approach to the prevention of the communication of diseases through migration is based on expert advice on protecting the nation's health. We will accordingly target health screening for tuberculosis in high-risk areas at the entry clearance stage; those who are diagnosed with it would then need to seek treatment at home before being allowed to enter the UK.
	HIV, unlike tuberculosis, is not airborne, so the public health issues it raises are different. However, the case for extending routine health checks to diseases other than tuberculosis is kept under review.

Antisocial Behaviour

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to visit the Vale of York to discuss problems relating to antisocial behaviour.

Hazel Blears: There are no current plans for Home Office Ministers to visit the Vale of York to discuss antisocial behaviour.
	However, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary visited Hambleton and Thirsk on February 11 2005.
	Whilst he was there he visited the Clock Project in Thirsk, a youth drop-in centre with multi agency support linked to antisocial behaviour and to prevent and deter" strand of the Prolific and Priority Offenders Strategy.
	He also met with manager and chair of the Hambleton Community Safety Partnership.

Antisocial Behaviour

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what redress victims of antisocial behaviour have if they feel the police or local authority are not responding to their concerns.

Hazel Blears: The police and local authorities are key partners in reducing crime and disorder in their local area. They will be signatories and supporters of strategies and interventions to tackle antisocial behaviour. These strategies should be widely advertised so that local people can understand the work that the police and local authorities are undertaking and what they can expect by way of action.
	Section 12 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2004 introduced a duty on all social landlords to publish policies and procedures by December 2004 on how they intend to tackle antisocial behaviour. These policies and procedures should be made available so that tenants as well as the wider community know what they can expect from social landlords.
	If a victim of antisocial behaviour is not satisfied with the response they have received from a local agency then they should seek further clarification via the established routes which have been set out locally for dealing with such issues, in some instances this might be by way of an established complaints procedure.
	They might also wish to seek advice and support from their local elected representative.

Antisocial Behaviour

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on steps his Department is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour in Sussex.

Hazel Blears: The Government's TOGETHER campaign helps local people and agencies to tackle and not tolerate antisocial behaviour.
	TOGETHER applies across all England and Wales including the hon. Members constituency.
	All Sussex's 13 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) have appointed an antisocial behaviour co-ordinator. All CDRPs were awarded £25,000 for antisocial behaviour in 2004–05 and have used this to recruit a co-ordinator.
	Hastings has been chosen as a Together Action Area, which will pilot new approaches and become an example of best practice in tackling antisocial behaviour. Hastings will also look to develop new ways of involving members of the public in the drive to tackle antisocial behaviour.
	84 ASBOs have been issued across Sussex since 1999.
	Brighton and Hove and Worthing have all had winners of the Home Office 'Taking a Stand' Awards.

Hamas

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent consideration has been given to listing Hamas as a proscribed international group.

Charles Clarke: The military wing of Hamas (Hamas IDQ) was proscribed in March 2001. Decisions to proscribe and deproscribe are and will continue to be taken only after the most careful consideration and on the basis of the best possible security and other appropriate advice. That will remain the basis for all decisions in the future.

Prison Population

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were in prison on 1 March (a) 1975, (b) 1985, (c) 1995 and (d) 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The figures for years requested, as at 28 February , are:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1975 39,364 
			 1985 (60)45,080 
			 1995 (61)50,409 
			 2005 75,354 
		
	
	(60)Plus 9 in police cells.
	(61)Plus 162 in police cells.

Prison Population

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on reducing the prison population.

Paul Goggins: The Government believe that prison should be reserved for serious, dangerous, and seriously persistent offenders. For other less serious offenders, tough community based sentences offer a much better alternative than short custodial sentences which can be ineffective in preventing re-offending.
	But it is for the courts to determine who needs to go to prison. The Government have not set any target for reducing the size of the prison population. The latest prison population projections indicate prison numbers will increase over the next five years. To allow for this we are building capacity up to nearly 80,000 by January 2006.

Abuse (False Allegations)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in the last five years the police have enforced a criminal sanction against an individual who has made a false allegation of abuse.

Paul Goggins: Defendants charged for making false allegations are likely to be proceeded against for perverting the course of justice". It is not possible from the information held on the Home Office Court Proceedings database to identify from the number of defendants proceeded against for perverting the course of justice", what number were for false allegations of abuse, as the circumstances of the offence are not collected centrally.

Crime (Essex)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many burglaries have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to a (i)prosecution and (ii) conviction;
	(2)  how many vehicle thefts have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to a (i)prosecution and (ii) conviction;
	(3)  how many assaults have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction;
	(4)  how many violence against the person offences have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction;
	(5)  how many violent crimes have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction;
	(6)  how many sexual offences have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction;
	(7)  how many robberies have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to a (i)prosecution and (ii) conviction;
	(8)  how many (a) fraud and (b) forgery offences have been reported to (i) Essex police and (ii) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to a (A) prosecution and (B) conviction.

Hazel Blears: The available information is given in the tables. Tables 1 and 2 give the number of offences recorded by the police in the Essex police force area and the Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Recorded crime data is published on a financial year basis and data at CDRP level is only available for six key offences for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 but for all offences from 2001–02.
	Tables 3 and 4 give the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty in the Essex police force area and South East Essex petty sessional area. Court proceedings data is published on a calendar year basis. Data for 2004 will not be available until the autumn.
	Because recorded crime deals with offences and court proceedings deals with defendants, the two data sets are not directly comparable.
	
		Table 1: Offences recorded by the police by various offence types, 1997–98 to 2001–02 -- Number of offences
		
			  Burglary Theft of a vehicle Common assault Violence against the person Violent crime(62) Sexual offences Robbery Fraud Forgery 
		
		
			 Essex police force area   
			 1997–98(63) 15,839 797 n/a 4,806 6,016 783 427 2,321 137 
			 1998–99(64) 14,997 7,414 1,478 8,043 9,443 877 523 4,207 159 
			 1999–2000 14,967 7,174 3,220 9,879 11,480 975 626 5,339 131 
			 2000–01 14,889 6,826 3,344 10,680 12,232 852 700 6,455 160 
			 2001–02 14,472 7,505 4,332 11,896 13,703 887 920 6,518 193 
			   
			 Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area 
			 1997–98 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1998–99 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1999–2000 n/a 1,013 n/a 1,463 1,786 157 166 n/a n/a 
			 2000–01 n/a 863 n/a 1,414 1,697 135 148 n/a n/a 
			 2001–02 1,439 810 479 1,444 1,800 139 217 649 16 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(62)Includes offences of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.
	(63)The number of crimes recorded using the coverage and rules in use until 31 March 1998.
	(64)The number of crimes recorded using the expanded coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
	Note:
	The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
	
		Table 2: Offences recorded by the police by various offence types, 2002–03 and 2003–04 -- Number of offences
		
			  Burglary Theft of a vehicle Common assault Violence against the person Violent crime(65) Sexual offences Robbery Fraud Forgery 
		
		
			 Essex police force area  
			 2002–03 16,909 7,664 3,559 22,090 24,583 1,165 1,328 7,471 263 
			 2003–04 16,467 7,283 4,050 26,010 28,782 1,296 1,476 7,163 307 
			   
			 Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area 
			 2002–03 1,994 668 321 3,043 3,551 195 313 596 38 
			 2003–04 1,643 746 244 3,253 3,849 188 408 802 49 
		
	
	(65)Includes offences of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.
	Note:
	The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.
	
		Table 3: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for various offences, 1997 to 2003(66)
		
			  Burglary Theft of a vehicle Common assault Violence against the person Violent crime(67) 
			  Proceeded against Found guilty(68) Proceeded against Found guilty(68) Proceeded against Found guilty(68) Proceeded against Found guilty(68) Proceeded against Found guilty(68) 
		
		
			 Essex police force area   
			 1997 995 598 560 311 956 550 1,443 647 1,774 819 
			 1998 920 581 562 357 1,270 748 1,468 637 1,851 824 
			 1999 828 533 585 319 1,368 793 1,454 622 1,814 792 
			 2000 837 436 599 348 1,475 732 1,361 569 1,665 728 
			 2001 717 403 517 327 1,472 769 1,547 613 1,940 759 
			 2002 680 405 575 381 1,473 845 1,298 618 1,705 792 
			 2003 648 410 547 362 1,565 898 1,471 702 1,828 863 
			
			 South East Essex petty sessional area(69)  
			 1997 246 163 118 57 263 149 394 158 468 192 
			 1998 248 159 138 65 366 198 421 171 497 200 
			 1999 211 138 150 77 328 203 353 162 422 194 
			 2000 147 107 129 80 348 159 290 127 341 151 
			 2001 157 102 98 60 357 190 351 120 412 144 
			 2002 130 70 95 62 309 186 292 145 386 172 
			 2003 137 89 91 61 342 199 323 147 408 178 
		
	
	(66)These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(67)Includes: Violence against the person, Sexual offences and Robbery.
	(68)For South East Essex PSA the guilty figures include those found guilty at the Crown court where South East Essex PSA was the committing court.
	(69)Covers Southend and includes some parts of Rayleigh, Benfleet and Canvey.
	
		Table 4: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for various offences, 1997 to 2003(70)
		
			  Sexual offences Robbery Fraud Forgery 
			  Proceeded against Found guilty(71) Proceeded against Found guilty(71) Proceeded against Found guilty(71) Proceeded against Found guilty(71) 
		
		
			 Essex police force area 
			 1997 194 112 137 60 528 355 314 226 
			 1998 220 101 163 86 558 361 300 217 
			 1999 228 81 132 89 508 347 231 173 
			 2000 151 81 153 78 544 324 234 176 
			 2001 195 66 198 80 505 321 304 223 
			 2002 201 79 206 95 483 316 249 176 
			 2003 186 77 171 84 442 321 191 149 
			 South East Essex petty sessional area(72) 
			 1997 41 19 33 15 120 78 81 58 
			 1998 38 10 38 19 115 64 68 52 
			 1999 41 15 28 17 114 83 53 40 
			 2000 23 12 28 12 120 79 57 35 
			 2001 30 11 31 13 100 60 65 50 
			 2002 45 12 49 15 91 54 39 26 
			 2003 33 15 52 16 78 56 33 25 
		
	
	(70)These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(71)For South East Essex PSA the guilty figures include those found guilty at the Crown court where South East Essex PSA was the committing court.
	(72)Covers Southend and includes some parts of Rayleigh, Benfleet and Canvey.

Car Thefts

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many car thefts have taken place in each of the last three years within the Greater London area.

Hazel Blears: The available information is for the London region. The number of recorded offences of theft of a vehicle are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001–02 62,492 
			 2002–03 58,739 
			 2003–04 55,384

Community Support Officers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used the power to maintain and enforce a cordoned area established under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001;
	(2)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used their power to request a name and address for fixed penalty offences and offences that cause injury, alarm and distress to another person or damage or loss of another's property;
	(3)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used their power to request the name and address of a person acting in an antisocial manner;
	(4)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used their power to save life or limb, or to prevent serious damage to property;
	(5)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used their power to seize vehicles used to cause alarm and distress;
	(6)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used their powers to (i) require the removal of abandoned vehicles, (ii) stop vehicles for the purpose of a road check, (iii) stop and search vehicles and remove items carried by drivers or passengers under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and items carried by pedestrians, (iv) regulate traffic for the purpose of escorting abnormal loads and (v) stop a vehicle for emissions testing;
	(7)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used their power to request a person to stop drinking in a designated public area and to surrender open containers of alcohol;
	(8)  how many times in each year since their inception (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers have used their powers to (i) confiscate alcohol from a young person and (ii) confiscate cigarettes and tobacco products from a young person;
	(9)  how many fixed penalty notices for dog fouling, littering and riding on footpaths have been issued by (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers in each year since their inception.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available. It is for the chief constable of Essex police to determine the duties of community support officers in Essex and to designate under the relevant legislation which powers they may exercise.

Community Support Officers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers were employed in the London borough of Wandsworth in each of the last three years.

Hazel Blears: The information for the number of community support officers in the Wandsworth borough Operational Command Unit has been provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Sir Ian Blair QPM) and is set out in the table.
	
		
			 Year (as at 31 March) Number of community support officers 
		
		
			 2003 7 
			 2004 34 
			 2005 (1 March) (73)32 
		
	
	(73)Wandsworth has been allocated a total of 44 Community Support Officers by 31 March 2005.

Community Support Officers

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers are working in Wandsworth; and how many there will be in April 2005.

Hazel Blears: I am told by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Sir Ian Blair QPM) that the Wandsworth borough Operational Command Unit had 32 community support officers (CSOs) on 1 March and that it is the intention that the borough should have 44CSOs by 31 March 2005.
	The allocation of CSOs to each of the London borough Operational Command Units is a matter for the Commissioner to decide.

Crime Statistics (Leicester, South)

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) crimes, (b) burglaries, (c) thefts and (d) vehicle-related crimes were reported to the police in Leicester, South in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The available information is given in the tables. Leicester, South comes within the Leicester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area and data at CDRP level has only been collected from 1999–2000.
	Table 1 gives figures for burglary and vehicle-related thefts for the Leicester CDRP from 1999–2000 to 2001–02. Figures for all crime and other thefts were not collected during these periods.
	Table 2 gives all the figures requested for 2002–03 and 2003–04. Because of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002, figures from this date are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.
	
		Table 1: Offences recorded by the police in the Leicester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area 1999–2000 to 2001–02 -- Number of offences
		
			  Burglary Vehicle related thefts 
		
		
			 1999–2000 4,287 8,489 
			 2000–01 3,391 7,349 
			 2001–02 3,317 7,774 
		
	
	Note:
	The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
	
		Table 2: Offences recorded by the police in the Leicester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area 2002–03 and 2003–04 -- Number of offences
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total crime(74) 48,357 47,376 
			 Burglary 3,379 3,077 
			 Theft(75) 4,532 4,271 
			 Vehicle related thefts 8,056 6,558 
		
	
	(74)Relates to all offences recorded in the Leicester CORP.
	(75)Excluding vehicle-related thefts.
	Note:
	The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the Criminal Cases Review Commission in identifying issues for possible reform of criminal law, procedure and practice.

Paul Goggins: Based on its casework experience the Commission submitted its view on partial defences to murder to the Law Commission during its consultation exercise; and has drawn to the attention of the Home Office a technical aspect of sentencing law following revocation of parole licences which has given rise to several references. There are a number of proposals for the possible reform of criminal law, procedure and practice which the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) has drawn to our attention where progress has been made, but where an appropriate legislative vehicle is awaited to implement the changes.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on theresults of the liaison between the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Historical Abuse Appeals Panel.

Paul Goggins: This is an internal matter for the Commission. I understand there have been several meetings between representatives of the Commission and the Historical Abuse Appeals Panel. Relevant issues have been discussed and a protocol for co-operation between the two organisations has been drafted.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what impact the Cannings case has had on the type of evidence the Criminal Cases Review Commission uses to justify a referral of a case to the Court of Appeal.

Paul Goggins: This judgment has had no impact, as such, on the type of evidence used to justify a referral, but the decision is of course applied by the Commission whenever it is appropriate to do so.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Criminal Cases Review Commission's section 17 powers will be extended to Scotland.

Paul Goggins: We are aware of the Criminal Cases Review Commission's concerns on this issue. At their request we are considering this matter along with a number of other legislative issues raised by the Commission.

Departmental Policies

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon Central constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on the Croydon Central constituency.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government has put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Croydon central constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and September 2004, the number of police officers in the Metropolitan Police Force increased by 3,434 from 26,677 to 30,111. The Government's introduction of community support officers (CSOs) in 2002 has put 1,889 CSOs on Metropolitan Police Force streets to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. Between 1997 and 2003–04, the Metropolitan Police Force Area has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 23 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of one per cent.
	The Metropolitan Police Service (MRS) will receive £1,927.8 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 5.81 per cent. (£105.8 million) over 2004–05. The MPS also gains around £4.2 million from the Amending Report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 6.04 per cent. General grants funding to the MPS has increased by 28 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, the MPS will also receive around £207 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the Police Authority and the chief constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Five CCTV projects in the Croydon CDRP area received a total of £964,986 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £2.16 million has been allocated to Croydon CDRP under these initiatives. A further £2.5 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in London for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in Croydon set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Croydon a total of 27 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of 1 March 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and its policy is set out in the 10 year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government has invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Croydon has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drug Interventions Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Croydon Drug Action Team amounted to £2.11 million, rising to £3.44 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Croydon central constituency can be obtained from the Croydon Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams
	The Government is working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the futurebuilders fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk
	This year, 2005, is the year of the Volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08 available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Departmental Policies

Brian Sedgemore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Haltemprice and Howden constituency, the effects on Haltemprice and Howden of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Haltemprice and Howden constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the Humberside police force increased by 186 from 2,045 to 2,231. Following the Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002, Humberside is in the process of recruiting 22 CSOs to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour on Humberside streets. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Humberside has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 27 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 18 per cent.
	Humberside Police Force will receive £118.9 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£4.3 million) over 2004–05. Humberside benefits from the decision to provide a funding floor of 3.75 per cent. If the funding formula had been strictly applied, the Force would have received £0.7 million less. Humberside also gains around £0.2 million from the Amending Report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 3.95 per cent. General grants funding to Humberside has increased by 27 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Humberside will also receive around £8 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the Police Authority and the Chief Constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Five CCTV projects in the East Riding CDRP area (which includes the Haltemprice and Howden constituency) received a total of £467,568 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £1.05 million has been allocated to East Riding CDRP under these initiatives. A further £1.8 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004/05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the Yorkshire and the Humber for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in East Riding of Yorkshire set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In East Riding of Yorkshire a total of 19 antisocial behaviour orders are currently issued (at February 2005). Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp .
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and its policy is set out in the 10 year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focussing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. East Riding of Yorkshire has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for East Riding of Yorkshire Drug Action Team amounted to £1.3 million, rising to £1.8 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency can be obtained from the East Riding of Yorkshire Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the 'futurebuilders' fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
	This year, 2005, is the year of the Volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found atwww.yearofthevolunteer.org .
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Gaelic Language

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's policy is on the use of the Gaelic language; and what plans his Department has to prepare and implement a Gaelic language scheme.

Fiona Mactaggart: Action to support the Gaelic language is primarily the responsibility of Scottish Ministers.
	The Home Office attaches great importance to the promotion and protection of the Gaelic language in line with the UK's obligations under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.
	The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill currently before the Scottish Parliament does not extend statutory obligations on UK public bodies in Scotland in relation to the preparation or implementation of Gaelic language plans. However, UK departments and public bodies which operate in Scotland may—like comparable Scottish public bodies—have a role to play in facilitating the use of the language.
	The Home Office has been working closely with colleagues in the Scotland Office and the Scottish Executive on the role our department can play, voluntarily, in securing the status of Gaelic.

Illegal Immigrants (Albanians)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Albanian nationals have been deported from the United Kingdom in each of the last three years.

Des Browne: The latest available information on the number of Albanian nationals removed from the UK as a result of deportation action in each of the last three years is shown in the table.
	
		Albanian nationals deported from the UK, 2002 to 2004(76)(5507490077)
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 2002 n/a 
			 2003 2 
			 2004(77) 8 
		
	
	n/a=Information not available.
	(76)These figures are based on management information and are not National Statistics.
	(77)Data for 2004 are provisional.

Infectious Diseases (UK Entrants)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) asylum seekers, (b) tourists and (c) immigrants entering the UK were tested for (i) tuberculosis, (ii) HIV and (iii) hepatitis in each year since 1997; and what proportion tested positive in each case.

Charles Clarke: Referral statistics are not collected routinely for all ports of entry. However we have obtained the statistics shown in the table for tuberculosis checks at Heathrow and Gatwick from the bodies which carry out the checks there. These statistics cover all passengers who are routinely referred.
	
		
			  Heathrow Gatwick 
			  Referrals for tuberculosis check Tuberculosis cases identified1 Referrals for tuberculosis check Tuberculosis cases identified1 
		
		
			 1997–98 65,188 100 n/a — 
			 1998–99 72,079 119 n/a — 
			 1999–2000 88,079 119 267 1 
			 2000–01 108,170 89 773 15 
			 2001–02 148,619 94–138 3,548 36 
			 2002–03 164,655 98–173 1,882 22 
			 2003–04 175,039 92–205 1,705 8 
		
	
	(78)Figures given may not be strictly comparable because of changes in definitions used by the health control unit at the airport. Where ranges are given, they reflect the fact that the unit does not always receive confirmation from a hospital that what the unit has identified as a case of TB on the basis of a chest x-ray is a case.

Inquests (Teesside)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many days in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004 the (i) coroner, (ii) deputy coroner and (iii) assistant deputy coroner for Teesside sat on inquests.

Paul Goggins: This information is not available.

Inquests (Teesside)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the salaries of the (a) coroner, (b) deputy coroner and (c) assistant deputy coroner of Teesside were on 1 December 2004.

Paul Goggins: The information is not held centrally. Coroners' salaries are determined by the relevant local authority which in this case is Middlesbrough borough council.

Internet Pornography

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to bring forward further proposals to control access to violent pornography on the internet.

Paul Goggins: We understand the public concern about the availability of extreme and obscene material on the internet. We are currently considering how the law relating to pornographic material featuring violence and sexual abuse could be strengthened.

Mistaken Identity

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of mistaken identity in relation to cases brought to prosecution he has been informed of in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: It is not possible from the Home Office Court Proceedings database to identify, from the number of defendants who were acquitted or had their case dismissed at court, those which involved mistaken identity, as the reasons behind the acquittal or dismissal are not collected.

Mobile Phones

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers have been stopped by police for driving while using a mobile phone in (a) London and (b) England since the ban came into force.

Hazel Blears: Information collected centrally on the new offence of driving while using a hand held mobile phone relates to police action by written warning, fixed penalty notice and court proceedings. It does not cover all stops for the offence, some of which may result in advice or an oral warning. Data for 2003 will be available in late March 2005.
	Use of a hands free mobile phone is not part of the new offence.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what legal authority regional offender managers under the National Offender Management Service structure are (a) taking responsibility for parts of the National Probation Service's budget in 2005–06 and (b) allowed to employ staff.

Paul Goggins: The Regional Offender Managers are civil servants and as such can exercise the Secretary of State's functions, which include making financial provision for local probation boards to perform their role. As civil servants they do not employ staff but can manage other civil servants.

Police Numbers

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent police officers there are per 1,000 residents of (a) England, (b) Avon and Somerset police area and (c) south Gloucestershire; and how many there were in (i) 1979 and (ii) 1997.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The latest information on police strength wards published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin number 13/04 Police Service Strength England and Wales, 31 March 2004".
	The requested information is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officer strength Strength per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 31 March 2004(79)   
			 England 130,988 264 
			 Avon and Somerset 3,417 229 
			 South Gloucestershire(80) 267 108 
			
			 31 March 1997   
			 England 118,459 242 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,989 204 
			 South Gloucestershire(80) — — 
			 31 March 1979   
			 England 103,574 224 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,825 212 
			 South Gloucestershire(80) — — 
		
	
	(79)Not comparable with previous years data. Includes staff on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave.
	(80)Figures for south Gloucestershire not collected before 31 March 2002.

Police Training

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average cost of employing, training and developing a probationary police constable in the last year for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary have estimated that the average salary, training and development costs of a probationary police constable up to independent patrol (which is normally 31 weeks after joining a force) in 2003–04 were £27,048. This figure includes salary costs of £13,993 per probationary police constable for that period and training and development costs of £13,055.
	Information about the associated costs for recruitment, supervision, accommodation, information technology etc is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Statistics

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the annual prison statistics for 2003 will be published; and what factors have determined the timescale for publication.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office statistical bulletin 'Offender management caseload statistics 2003' was published on 9 December 2004. This bulletin replaces the annual publications 'Prison statistics England and Wales' and 'Probation statistics England and Wales'. A copy of the publication is available in the Library, and is supplemented by further tables on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html

Prison System

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of public attitudes to prison and its alternatives.

Paul Goggins: The Home Department conducts its own assessments of public attitudes to prison and its alternatives through its own research such as the British Crime Survey, and through the consideration of other research and representations.

Prison/Employer Links

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to encourage links between prisons and local employers.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service is developing a joint prison probation strategy for establishing and maintaining links with employers. These links are focused on sectors that have significant labour shortages nationally and regionally, such as construction, catering, industrial cleaning, utilities, sports and fitness, driving and distribution. Opportunities are also being explored in horticulture and information communication technology. These sectors were identified following consultation with the Confederation of British Industry, Jobcentre Plus and Sector Skills Council.
	The Prison Service is taking the lead on a cross Government work programme for engaging with employers which has been agreed by the Employment, Training and Education Sub-Board of the Reducing Re-offending Programme Board. This work programme includes officials from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the Probation Service, Jobcentre Plus, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Learning and Skills Council. National and local employers will be invited to be involved as the work programme develops. Its aim is tobuild on existing work to encourage employers to contribute to the training of offenders and to commit to the recruitment of those who achieve an agreed level of skills.
	At a local level, employer links are being developed and maintained through the Heads of Learning and Skills and Resettlement Managers in establishments. They work closely with Jobcentre Plus, Learning and Skills Councils and voluntary organisations to involve employers in work and training programmes for prisoners and to encourage them to recruit prisoners on their release. From April 2005 the Learning and Skills Councils will assume responsibility for the skills training of all offenders, and will be seeking to meet local labour market needs. This will increase opportunities for linking with employers at a local level.
	The Prison Service is currently developing an employer database, holding information on employers who are willing and able to offer work to ex-offenders. This will enable prison to access information about employment opportunities in their local area, and also nationally to assist prisoners who are held at establishments outside their home areas.

Prisoners (Art)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to ensure that different parties involved in the arts work closely together to increase the range, quantity and quality of activities for prisoners.

Paul Goggins: Activities being undertaken by arts organisations in prisons and the community are well documented for all key stakeholders in the Directory of Arts Activities in Prisons, which has been produced annually by the Unit for Arts and Offenders with financial support from the Department for Education and Skills. The Unit also produces a regular e-mail newsletter for arts organisations working with offenders, hosts a Forum for Arts and Offenders and provides training to artists wanting to work with prisoners. TheUnit for Arts and Offenders will be members of the newly formed National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Voluntary and Community Sector Advisory Group.
	Arts for offenders are supported through the curriculum in prisons and through financial support provided centrally to several national arts organisations to actively promote arts activities in prisons. Most prisons now have a Head of Learning and Skills, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, and they will determine the part that arts activities and arts organisations can play within the establishment. At a major prison Arts conference last year to celebrate and promote arts activities for offenders, a guide was launched for Heads of Learning and Skills and Managers in the Voluntary Sectors on provision of voluntary sector activities in prisons. This includes a consistent and joint approach to joint working on setting up, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of provision.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers and staff have (a) been tested for tuberculosis and (b) tested positive for tuberculosis (i) in each year since 1997 and (ii) between 1 January and 1 December.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 13 December 2004
	This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the recruitment moratorium by Her Majesty's Prison Service;
	(2)  when the decision was made by Her Majesty's Prison Service to introduce a recruitment moratorium;
	(3)  how long the recruitment moratorium by Her Majesty's Prison Service will continue.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service introduced a managed recruitment ban on 6 December 2004. The need for the ban to continue has been recently reviewed and the Prison Service has now decided that from 1 April 2005, recruitment can recommence in order to fill vacancies. An evaluation of the effects of the ban is currently being assessed but it has successfully contributed toward the reduction of the projected overspend by the Prison Service for 2004–05 to a level where the ban will only need to remain in place for the remainder of this financial year.
	Since January 2005, establishments have been required to report monthly on the impact of the ban to assess operational pressures. The imposed ban was not an absolute freeze on recruitment and was not intended to prevent the filling of vacancies that, if left unfilled, could compromise the safety and security of establishments.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the 2003 Prisoner Resettlement Survey.

Paul Goggins: The 2003 Prisoner Resettlement Survey 2003 was published on 24 February 2005.

Prisons

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons cookery classes in Bullwood Hall prison have been discontinued.

Paul Goggins: Cookery classes for prisoners have not been stopped at Bullwood Hall prison. All education classes at Bullwood Hall took place in a building known as the activity centre. Asbestos has been found in areas of this building and work is currently under way to ensure its safe removal by specialist contractors. While this work is carried out, the cookery class and other classes continue to take place in other areas of the prison.

Prisons

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been transferred from Holloway prison to Cookham Wood prison in the last six months; and what the reasons were for the transfers.

Paul Goggins: Between 30 July 2004 and 18 February 2005, 79 prisoners were transferred from Holloway prison to Cookham Wood prison and young offender institution.
	Of these, 77 were routine allocations from a local prison serving the courts to a training prison and two were for disciplinary reasons.

Prisons

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve conditions at Cookham Wood Prison.

Paul Goggins: Over the last 12 months Cookham Wood has successfully implemented a performance improvement plan and has implemented most of the recommendations made by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in her report of an inspection of the prison which was published on 6 February 2004. This has contributed to a significant improvement in conditions across the prison.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of mandatory drug testing programmes in prisons was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The central costs of the mandatory drug testing programme in the last five years are given in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1999–2000 1.8 
			 2000–01 1.8 
			 2001–02 1.6 
			 2002–03 1.4 
			 2003–04 1.4

Prisons

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many prisons the population was in excess of the certified normal accommodation on the latest date for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: As at 28 February 2005, 78 prisons were operating with a population above their in-use certified normal accommodation (CNA) level. This is the uncrowded capacity of the establishment. All prisons were operating within their useable operational capacity, which is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime.
	The Government have increased the number of prison places by around 17,000 since 1997 to the current useable operational capacity of 76,600. We plan to increase this by a further 3,800 to around 80,400 in 2007.

Probation Service

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what mechanisms the future arrangements for the governance of the probation service will protect the employment rights and status of staff.

Paul Goggins: Any changes in the future governance of the probation service will take full account of the need to comply with employment protection provisions, both contractual and legislative. Any proposals will also be the subject of full consultation with the recognised trade unions.

Probation Service

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) the Probation Pay and Rewards Review and (b) the joint agreement on workload prioritisation will be implemented prior to further organisational changes for the Probation Service in England and Wales.

Paul Goggins: I remain committed to the implementation, in 2005, of a negotiated, affordable, modernised pay and reward structure for he National Probation Service (NPS).
	The workload measurement tool (WMT) is currently being piloted with the possibility of a third metropolitan area joining the pilot. Decisions about the implementation of the workload measurement tool across the NPS will not be taken without determining that the tool is 'fit for purpose" in relation to the requirements of orders imposed under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The project will also be the subject of a full financial appraisal and a detailed business case will need to be established. This current phase of work is scheduled for completion by April 2005.
	The Probation Boards' Association and the NPS' trade unions are all represented on the WMT's Project Board and are aware of the time scales associated with the project.

Research and Development

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) his Department's expenditure and (b) the expenditure of each agency for which his Department is responsible on research and development relating to UK university departments and research centres was in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to provide the information requested in respect of the core Home Office and its agencies. While it is possible to provide total expenditure on third party suppliers an analysis by supplier or category of supplier cannot be provided without additional investigation and at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office currently sponsors the following agencies:
	Criminal Records Bureau
	Probation Service
	Prison Service
	United Kingdom Passport Service
	Only the core Home Office and Passport Service have recorded expenditure on R and D within the period covered by the question and these figures have been provided in response to separate questions.

Sentencing

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the punishments available for those found to have perverted the course of justice.

Paul Goggins: Perverting the course of justice is a common law offence, so there is no set maximum or minimum penalty available to the court. Common law offences are ones which are not embodied in statute; they consist of rules of law based upon common custom and usage, and on judicial judgments.
	In 2003, 1,391 persons were found guilty of perverting the course of justice. 608 (43.7 per cent.) received a custodial sentence and the average sentence length was 8.8 months. Further information is given in the table.
	
		Persons proceeded against and those found guilty of offences of perverting the course of justice, by outcome—England and Wales -- Number of persons
		
			  2002 2003 
		
		
			 Sex T T 
			 Persons proceeded against 2,646 2,396 
			 Persons found guilty 1,549 1,391 
			 Sentence breakdown   
			 Absolute/conditional discharge 43 53 
			 Fine 39 43 
			 Average fine amount (£) 438 789 
			 Community sentence 683 636 
			 Fully suspended sentence 44 46 
			 Immediate custody 737 608 
			 Average(81) custodial sentence length (months) 7.0 8.8 
			 Otherwise dealt with 3 5 
		
	
	(81)Excluding life sentences (one imposed on a male in 2003) Figures relate to persons where the offence was their principal offence.
	Source:
	RDS-NOMS

Sentencing

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will re-examine the arrangements for (a) detention and (b) treatment of offenders with mental health problems.

Paul Goggins: The Government are doing a great deal to ensure that offenders with mental health problems are not sent to prison inappropriately. The operation of court diversion schemes and the development of wider sentencing options, coupled with the further development of other mental health services, are closing gaps in community care and reducing the number of such offenders who reach the courts.
	Mental health services within prisons are improving significantly as a result of new investment that has been put into the development of NHS mental health in-reach services. The NHS Plan (2000) commitments for 2004 have been successfully met. No prisoner with a serious mental illness now leaves prison without a care plan, and 300 additional staff have been employed. NHS mental health in-reach investment will reach £20 million a year by 2005–06 so that in-reach type services are available to every prison in England and Wales, currently 94 in-reach teams are in operation.
	There is a firm commitment to ensure that people who are too ill to remain in prison are transferred to hospital. Tighter regular monitoring has been introduced to identify prisoners who have been waiting unacceptably long periods for transfer to hospital. A protocol has been issued setting out what must be done when a prisoner has been waiting for a hospital place for more than three months following acceptance by the NHS. Both have brought about an improvement. 721 prisoners were transferred to hospital in 2003, an increase of 12 per cent. on the 2002 figure of 644. The Prison Service, the joint Prison Health team, the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIHME), and the commissioners and providers of NHS hospital services are working together to establish a national waiting time limit for transfers between custodial settings and hospitals.
	The Mental Health Bill includes provisions to enable more flexible use to be made of mental health services for offenders. Community disposals are permitted for offenders who can safely be treated without detention and secure beds are released for those who need them. Public protection has also been improved by the development of assessment and treatment services for dangerous offenders with severe personality disorders.

Sexual Violence (Legal Advice)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many specialist sexual violence legal advice lines are funded by his Department in (a) England and Wales and (b) the North East;
	(2)  if he will increase the number of specialist sexual violence legal advice lines funded by his Department in England and Wales.

Paul Goggins: At present the Home Office does not fund any specialist sexual violence legal advice lines.
	However, an additional £4 million funding over two years from the new Victims Fund is being used to support the development of services for victims of sexual offending. Ministers have recently approved funding in 2004–05 for 45 organisations in the voluntary and community and statutory sectors providing services to victims of sexual violence. Some of the successful applicants provide specialist telephone helpline services. All successful applicants have been notified and a list of grants awarded from the Victims Fund will be published in due course.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to improve the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Paul Goggins: Public confidence in the criminal justice system (CJS) is assessed using questions in the British crime survey. Latest data shows that the proportion of people who believe the CJS is effective in bringing people who commit crimes to justice has increased to 42 per cent. (year to September 2004) from a baseline of 39 per cent. (2002–03).

Terrorism (Arrests)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the oral answer of 23 February 2005, Official Report, column 301, how many of those arrested post-11 September 2001 in connection with terrorist activity were (a) released without charge, (b) charged, and with what crimes, (c) convicted and given custodial sentences, (d) convicted and given non-custodial sentences and (e) candidates for deportation.

Hazel Blears: Statistics provided to the Home Office by the Police on arrests and charges from 11 September 2001 until 31 December 2004 under the Terrorism Act 2000 are on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk/terrorism/. (These are compiled from recent police records and are therefore subject to change as cases go through the system.)
	Key facts and statistics:
	Police records show that from 11 September 2001 until 31 December 2004, 701 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000.
	Charges:
	119 of these were charged under the Act. Of these, 45 were also charged with offences under other legislation.
	135 were charged under other legislation. This includes charges for terrorist offences that are already covered in general criminal law such as murder, grievous bodily harm and use of firearms or explosives.
	Convictions:
	17 Individuals have been convicted of offences under the Terrorism Act.
	Other information:
	The following table gives the outcome for those not covered above:
	
		
			 Outcome Number 
		
		
			 Transferred to immigration authorities 59 
			 On bail to return 22 
			 Cautioned 7 
			 Dealt with under mental health legislation 7 
			 Awaiting extradition 1 
			 Returned to prison service custody 1 
			 Released without charge 351 
		
	
	More detailed information is not held by the Home Office.
	Home Office Research Development and Statistics publish a Command Paper and supplementary volumes of criminal statistics annually. A breakdown of prosecutions and convictions under the Terrorism Act 2000 for 2001, 2002 and 2003 are in the accompanying tables. Figures for 2004 will not be available until later in the year.
	
		Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, England and Wales 2001(82)
		
			  Offence description  Statute Proceeded against Found guilty  Sentenced 
		
		
			 Relating to membership of proscribed organisations Terrorism Act 2000, Sec. 11 3 — — 
			 Wearing any item of dress in support of a proscribed organisation Terrorism Act 2000, Sec. 13a — — — 
			 Wears, carries or displays any article in support of a proscribed organisation Terrorism Act 2000, Sec. 13b — — — 
			 Contributions towards acts of terrorism Terrorism Act 2000, Sec. 15–18 and 22 1 — — 
			 Failure to disclose knowledge or suspicion of acts of terrorism Terrorism Act 2000, Sec. 19 — — — 
			 Failure to leave a cordoned area immediately when ordered to do so by a constable in uniform Terrorism Act 2000, Sec.36(1)(a) — — — 
			 Failure to leave premises, which abut or are wholly or partially within a cordoned area, immediately if ordered to dos o by a constable in uniform Terrorism Act 2000 Sec.36(1)(b) — — — 
			 Failure of driver or person in charge of a vehicle which is in a cordoned area to immediately move the vehicle if ordered to do so by a constable in uniform. Terrorism Act 2000 Sec.36(c)(d)(e) — — — 
			 Contravention or a prohibition or restriction order made by a constable in uniform to a cordoned area. Terrorism Act 2000 Sec.36(f) — — — 
			 Making any disclosure likely to prejudice an investigation about acts of terrorism or failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism. Terrorism Act 2000 Sec. 36 — — — 
			 Failure to stop (Power to stop and search vehicles and pedestrians) Terrorism Act 2000 Sec. 43, 44 and 47(1)(a)(b)(2) 1 — — 
			 Wilful obstruction (Power to stop and search vehicles and pedestrians) Terrorism Act 2000, Sec. 43, 44 and 47(1)(c) and (2) — — — 
			 Failure to move vehicle when ordered to do so by a constable in uniform, (vehicle had been permitted to remain at rest in contravention of any prohibition or restriction) Terrorism Act 2000, Sec. 48 and 51(2) — — — 
			 Leaves a vehicle, or permits a vehicle to remain at rest, on a road in contravention of a prohibition or restriction. Terrorism Act 2000 Sec. 48 and 51(1) — — — 
			 Provides instruction; invites another to receive instruction in weapon training. Terrorism Act 2000 Sec. 54 1 — — 
			 Directing terrorist training. Terrorism Act 2000 Sec. 56 — — — 
			 Collect, record or possession of information or articles likely to be of use to Terrorists. Terrorism Act 2000 Sec. 57 and 58 — — — 
			 Failure to furnish information when required by examining officer. Terrorism Act 2000 Sch.7(5)(a) and (18) — — — 
			 Failure to produce either a valid passport or identifying document when required by examining officer Terrorism Act 2000 Sch7(5)(b) and (18) — — — 
			 Failing to declare or produce any relevant documents when required by examining officer. Terrorism Act 2000 Sch.7(5)(c)(d) and (18) — — — 
			 Failing to submit to search by examining officer or person acting on his/her behalf. Terrorism Act 2000 Sch.7(7)(8) and (18) — — — 
			 Failing to complete and produce an embarkation card when required to by examining officer. Terrorism Act 2000 Sch.7(16) and (18) — — — 
			 Wilfully obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty in a cordoned area Terrorism Act 2000 Sch.5 Sec.36(1)(2) — — — 
			 Wilfully obstructing or seeking to frustrate the object of a search in a cordoned area Terrorism Act 2000 Sch.5(1–3) — — — 
			 Total  6 — — 
		
	
	(82)These data are on the principal offence basis.
	Source:
	RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Home Office IOS: 079–05

Ticket Sales

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the number of fraudulent sales in 2004 of tickets for music events (a) by street based ticket touts and (b) on the internet;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legal provisions in dealing with (a) the fraudulent sale of music event tickets online and (b) misrepresentations of the number of tickets for a music event available for sale online; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: We have not made an assessment of the number of fraudulent sales of tickets for music events.
	The fraudulent sale of goods is currently covered by the offence of 'obtaining property by deception' in section 15 of the Theft Act 1968. In 2004, the Government issued a consultation paper on fraud law reform. Under the Government's proposals, this behaviour would constitute a fraud by false representation. The Government plans to take forward these proposals when parliamentary time permits.

Traffic Enforcement Officers

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) traffic enforcement officers, (b) traffic wardens and (c) council parking attendants were operating in each police authority area in each year since 2002–03.

Hazel Blears: Information on traffic enforcement officers and council parking attendants is not collected centrally. The statistics for traffic wardens are given in the table.
	
		Traffic wardens by police force area: 2002–03 and 2003–04 -- Number of wardens
		
			 Force 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 43 34 
			 Bedfordshire 2 2 
			 Cambridgeshire 35 17 
			 Cheshire 19 15 
			 Cleveland 7 8 
			 Cumbria 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 48 43 
			 Devon and Cornwall 103 102 
			 Dorset 0 0 
			 Durham 15 4 
			 Dyfed-Powys 13 10 
			 Essex 38 21 
			 Gloucestershire 31 21 
			 Greater Manchester 88 88 
			 Gwent 27 25 
			 Hampshire 25 23 
			 Hertfordshire 38 9 
			 Humberside 48 46 
			 Kent 0 0 
			 Lancashire 50 17 
			 Leicestershire 61 51 
			 Lincolnshire 21 18 
			 London, City of 0 0 
			 Merseyside 52 43 
			 Metropolitan police 687 505 
			 Norfolk 33 31 
			 Northamptonshire 7 5 
			 Northumbria 59 56 
			 North Wales 7 5 
			 North Yorkshire 0 10 
			 Nottinghamshire 29 33 
			 South Wales 99 92 
			 South Yorkshire 68 37 
			 Staffordshire 10 1 
			 Suffolk 25 25 
			 Surrey 17 8 
			 Sussex 61 67 
			 Thames Valley 42 36 
			 Warwickshire 9 8 
			 West Mercia 15 13 
			 West Midlands 74 72 
			 West Yorkshire 98 85 
			 Wiltshire 7 5 
			 Total 2,108 1,688

Violent Crime

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he plans to introduce to reduce the level of violent crime.

Paul Goggins: British Crime Survey figures—the most reliable long-term indicator of underlying trends in violence—indicate that the level of violent crime has fallen by 36 per cent. since 1995, when there was a peak of over 4 million violent incidents, and by 26 per cent. since 1997.
	The Government have taken action to ensure better policing and better prevention and protection against crime. At the end of August 2004, there were nearly 140,000 police officers in service, an all-time record. The Street Crime Initiative, launched in 2002 in 10 police force areas to tackle robbery, secured a 17 per cent. reduction in robberies in those areas in the first year. The levels of robbery have continued to fall, with the number of recorded robberies in the year to September 2004 down by 18 per cent. compared to the previous 12 month period.
	Nevertheless, the Government continue to take the issue of violent crime and the impact it has on people's lives very seriously. That is why we have introduced a number of measures to tackle violent crime, and will continue to do so.
	Almost half of all violent crime is alcohol-related and the Home Office, jointly with the Department of Health, are tackling this through the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy which was announced on 15 March 2004. There have since been two Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns led by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers, the first in 92 police areas in the summer of 2004 and the second in 180 police areas during the Christmas and new year period.
	The two campaigns focused on tackling violent and disorderly behaviour by drunken troublemakers and the illegal sale and consumption of alcohol by under-18s. During the most recent campaign, the police and their partners visited over 31,000 licensed premises, carried out sting" operations in nearly 1,000 of these, issued over 4,000 fixed penalty notices for alcohol-related offences, made over 6,000 arrests and confiscated alcohol from over 2,800 adults and juveniles. Further campaigns of this kind will be held.
	We are also running the Tackling Violent Crime Programme in six police force areas. This programme aims to help local areas reduce violent crime and improve local partnership working.
	On 21 January we published a number of proposals in a consultation document, Drinking Responsibly". These include the introduction of:
	Alcohol Disorder Zones", with costs recovered from the pubs and bars which cause the most disorder;
	an immediate 24-hour banning order on the sale of alcohol for premises found to be persistently selling alcohol to underage drinkers; and
	Drinking Banning Orders" for persons issued with three fixed penalty notices or three alcohol or disorder-related convictions, excluding them from pubs and bars within a specified period for a fixed period of time.
	We are also taking action against other types of violent crime. The fight against domestic violence will be reinforced in July 2005 when the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 takes effect. Courts will have greater powers to protect victims of domestic violence against further harassment by being able to issue restraining orders, even when a defendant has not been convicted.
	Finally, we recognise the damaging impact of hate crime on community cohesion and public perceptions of safety. We have introduced proposals to make incitement to religious hatred a criminal offence under the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Bill.

Young Offenders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures (a) are in place and (b) he plans to introduce to ensure early intervention and preventive measures designed to reduce the number of young people receiving custodial sentences.

Paul Goggins: We have introduced a range of measures across England and Wales to improve early intervention and the response to offending.
	The youth justice agencies have been completely reorganised to improve delivery , through establishment of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and multi-agency youth offending teams in all local areas .
	For under 10s we have introduced the child safety order, parenting contracts and parenting orders. The parenting measures also extend to over 10s.
	For over 10s who offend we have introduced structured reprimands and final warnings ; and for those who go to court the referral order with restorative justice panels, reparation order and action plan order. The Youth Justice Board has developed the intensive supervision and surveillance programme, which provides a strict and closely monitored regime for prolific and serious young offenders who might otherwise receive a custodial sentence.
	We have also published our proposals to focus sentencing more clearly on the prevention of offending, by strengthening the range of community sentence interventions and introducing a specific intensive supervision and surveillance order.

Young Offenders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of young people released from custody who re-offend within two years.

Paul Goggins: Most young people who are sentenced to custody receive a detention and training order (DTO). The DTO is a two-part sentence, the first half spent in custody and the second in the community. The intention is to work with the young people during their time in custody to tackle their offending behaviour and to prepare them for life after release. The second (community) part of the order seeks to build on what has been begun, particularly by providing educational, training or employment opportunities. Youth offending teams (YOTs) are involved in both parts of the order and are responsible for putting in place the interventions during the community part.
	The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is working to enhance community interventions and to strengthen continuity between the two parts of the order. Young people who receive custodial sentences tend to be those with a high risk of reoffending, but the integrated approach embodied in the DTO seeks to give them the best chance of turning away from offending and making a positive contribution to the community.

Youth Offending Teams

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to improve the understanding of youth offending teams of their role.

Paul Goggins: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) oversees the operation of the youth justice system, including ensuring that Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) understand their role and how best to carry it out. It has established a performance management framework, designed to ensure local services work together to prevent children and young people from offending in the first place and to reduce the risk of further re-offending by existing offenders. It has introduced effective practice principles based on research evidence of what works in reducing offending and this is being rolled out across England and Wales. This is being supported and underpinned by the development of a National Qualification Justice professionals. The YJB is committed to ensuring that 80 per cent. of the youth justice workforce has benefited from professional training by March 2006.
	The YJB has also been working worked closely with the antisocial behaviour unit in the Home Office to ensure that YOTS along with their local authority partners and the police put in place targeted prevention programmes aimed at diverting children and young people from antisocial and sub criminal activity. The YJB has developed guidance for YOTS for dealing with antisocial behaviour issues, which is due to be published shortly. Also the forthcoming draft Youth Justice Bill proposes to clarify the YOTS' role in supporting Antisocial behaviour initiatives.